Guest opinion: Is the day of the developer-politician over?
So there was this patrician named Crassus back in Ancient Rome who took advantage of a unique housing crisis. Because the city had no official fire brigade, when a building caught ablaze, he would show up with his men and demand a hefty price to fight the fire. If the property-owner paid up, his men would put it out.
If not, heâd just let it burn to the ground.
Iâve thought about this anecdote recently, and not just because â like many men â I think about Ancient Rome all the time. Because in Utah we have our own housing crisis, not because of for-profit firefighters but because of a massive housing shortage.
Itâs widespread knowledge that housing has become unaffordable for many in Utah, but the situation is actually even worse than most people realize. As recently as 2016, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) found that Utah had the 6th best Housing Price Index (HPI) in the nation. But just a few years later weâve dropped to 51st â the worst in the nation....
And much like firefighters in Ancient Rome, to it seems the people who should be helping are actually hurting: real estate developer politicians.
The criticism that Utah is run by real estate developers is not a new one â prompting the Deseret News earlier this year to ask bluntly if the state is âtoo developer friendly.â Sure, we need developers. But maybe we donât need developers who overwhelm local land use to massively enrich themselves.
At least that was the point that KUTV made in July when they determined that 26 members of Utahâs legislature â or about one-quarter of them â are professionally involved in the real estate industry â whether itâs âdevelopment, investment, consulting or management.â (Read More)
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