» Monthly Archives: April 2009
Good, Bad and Ugly – ULI’s Blank on Obama, economy and confidence in markets
By Jesse McKnight Executive Vice President, The Saint Consulting Group Listening to Stephen Blank, Senior Fellow for Finance at the Urban Land Institute (ULI), can be a sobering experience, as he proved again at the ULI conference in Atlanta where he described the economic recession as the “Lindsay Lohanization of capital markets” – saying they ...
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Unwarranted assumptions by developers lead to negative political outcomes – Part 1
By P. Michael Saint,
Chairman, The Saint Consulting Group
Developers and project managers hoping to win permits to build new facilities sometimes make unwarranted assumptions that lead to negative political outcomes.
In the first of two articles, here are a few:
Assuming they know and understand the local politics. Even experienced developers often assume they know more about ...
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More evidence of ebbing NIMBY influence in bad economy — now copper mines
Back in December, The Saint Report published a report about how NIMBYs were taking a back seat to jobs, tax growth and more housing as communities become more receptive to development projects in the deepening recession,
The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted the same phenomenon in copper mining, as resistance erodes to proposed projects that ...
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Most Americans do not see large wind farms as harmful — Saint Index report
Seventy-nine percent of Americans do not believe a large wind farm project is detrimental to their health and welfare, according to the 2009 US Saint Index survey of attitudes toward real estate development projects.
The North American Windpower blog reports that slightly more than one in 10 adults, 11 percent, say a large wind project could ...
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With opposition to everything, what is good, appropriate development, reader asks
A reader recently asked The Saint Report: "When are we going to hear something about 'good' or 'appropriate' development from Saint? As much as you all rail against NIMBYism, it is typically conservative interests (not the elusive 'suburban liberals' - a group that any pollster will tell you doesn't exist) that block development in and ...
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Land use politics in suburbs — reflecting on idyllic setting and community needs
Want your cake and eat it too? In developing suburbs families desire the perfect world of a sizeable affordable home, low taxes, exemplary government services, convenient dining, great schools and decreasing traffic woes.
However, once we've moved to these idyllic locations, we want to be the last ones in the door - and then shut ...
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Development trends…
April 13, 2009 Gaming Industry Observer
POLITICIANS, OPERATORS TAKE NOTE: CASINOS MORE RADIOACTIVE THAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
Americans in 2008 said by a margin of 84 percent to 14 percent that casino gambling is acceptable for themselves or others, according to the annual American Gaming Association poll. In the
same year, Americans also said by similar margin – ...
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Lessons for developers in community relations and planning from bruising Phoenix fight
By Owen Eagan
Division Manager, Southern California, The Saint Consulting Group
A small shopping development in Phoenix, Arizona, has bruised community feelings where neighbors feel the city did not listen, the developer did not compromise and their elected representatives failed them. There are several important take-aways for developers from this project.
First, it’s not surprising that neighbors organized ...
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Drill now, pro-wind interests sound off in Atlantic City on MMS proposed 5-Year OCS report
By Ben Kelahan,
Senior Vice President for Energy, The Saint Consulting Group
Caution to Listeners: You May Need to Adjust Your Volume
You might have thought that the lively energy debate behind such campaign slogans as "Drill Baby Drill!" would have triggered more emotional turnout to the Interior Department's first extended public comment hearing on use of the ...
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Retail planning boards may affect California’s law to cut greenhouse emissions
By Jesse McKnight,
Executive Vice President, The Saint Consulting Group
Local retail planning decisions that determine the size and type of future shopping developments in California may also have a major impact on the Golden State's attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The success of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, known as AB 32, ...
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