The Ugly Side of Redevelopment

I love to see efforts to redevelop urban cores of cities like what is going on Kansas City. The Power and Light District has been a grand success so far with its great restaurants and bars and the Sprint Center across the street. Cities, large and small, all over the country have been making efforts to redevelop and revitalize their urban cores and other blighted areas. A common, and often necessary, tool to push forward with the redevelopment is the government's power of eminent domain. Eminent domain allows the government to take private land from the owner after paying fair compensation for that property. When the governemnt can use this power and what is actually fair compensation is a common source of litigation and not mentioned much in the papers.

Like I said, I love to see Kansas City's downtown reborn and exciting, but an exciting downtown is just one factor to consider when looking at the effect of eminent domain. An interesting op-ed was brought to my attention by The Property Prof Blog. It brings up the issue that there may be an ugly side to redevelopment, revitalization and the use of eminent domain. Minority communities are being classified as "blighted" and being removed by municipalities in favor of the high-dollar redevelopments for the well-to-do.

Check out this article. I think a blanket characterization of eminent domain as racist and harmful to minorities (which I don't think is the author's goal) would be misplaced, but it raises an interesting, and troubling, point that should be considered.

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Erik Moore, Esq.
Ghafoor, Cook & Associates
136 E. Walnut, Suite 300
Independence, MO 64050
816-373-7379
816-222-0757 fax
emoore@ghafoorcook.com

Supreme Court Addresses One of the Key Issues of the Day

The Supreme Court yesterday upheld Indiana's voter ID law. I don't want to take any position on the case here (and I don't know that I have put enough time and thought into it to have a position), but I do want to bring people's attention to this case and other "hot topic" cases. This case might have some effect on the upcoming presidential election. The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog has a quick summary of the case and links to read more about it.

I like to bring these cases up and provide links so that people can actually learn about the facts and arguments of the case instead of relying on the political arguments or "watercooler talk" to inform themselves. The Supreme Court's rulings are based on law and not politics and it is important for all of us to understand that fact and understand what the law of the case really is before supporting or rejecting the decision.

So, if you are interested in this case, I invite you to take the time to read more about it. You will impress those who haven't.

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Erik Moore, Esq.
Ghafoor, Cook & Associates
136 E. Walnut, Suite 300
Independence, MO 64050
816-373-7379
816-222-0757 fax
emoore@ghafoorcook.com

Before You Challenge or Appeal, Please Follow the Directions

Law of the Land has a good post summarizing a Missouri Court of Appeals case dealing with the Cout's review of a conditional use permit. As the posting states, the case does not so much review the merits of the conditional use permit at issue as it reviews the procedure for challenging the permit, which was not followed by the party who wanted to challenge the granting of the permit, and then appeal the denial of the protest, did not follow.

Administrative agencies have pretty specific procedures for challenging and/or appealing decisions, and those procedures have to be followed. The wisdom and fairness of decisions by the Board of Zoning Adjustments or the Assessor, or whoever, is important, but becomes irrelevant if proper procedures are not followed to challenge those decisions.

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Erik Moore, Esq.
Ghafoor, Cook & Associates
136 E. Walnut, Suite 300
Independence, MO 64050
816-373-7379
816-222-0757 fax
emoore@ghafoorcook.com

Real Estate Syndication

Here is a link to an interesting to a blog by Joel Block that discusses, among other things, Real Estate Syndication. He is not a lawyer and this not a legal analysis, but he does provide basic answers and discussion with regard to syndication.

I get questions from time to time about syndication and what needs to happen, and I am happy to help these investors out. Basically, Real Estate Syndication is a group of investors pooling their money together for real estate investing. It is a complicated process that requires close adherence to securities laws. Joel has posted a series or blogs addressing Syndication. Check it out.

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Erik Moore, Esq.
Ghafoor, Cook & Associates
136 E. Walnut, Suite 300
Independence, MO 64050
816-373-7379
816-222-0757 fax
emoore@ghafoorcook.com

City and County Government Employees Are There to Help You

All joking about government workers aside, the staff members of local government are resources and should be used when it comes to building permits, land use permits, and rezoning requests. It is a great idea to sit down with a member of a permit or planning department's staff to talk about the project you want to start before you start it. The "before" is the key word in that sentence. Often times, it is a requirement for certain applications in some cities to have a meeting with staff. This is a great opportunity to talk to the people who will actually be reviewing the application after it is filed. It is like going over the answers to a test with the teacher before you actually take the test. Not only that, you start to build a relationship with the these people, you get on a first name basis, and they are able to put a face to the name. You also get a feel for what the reaction to your request will be.

Do your homework though. Whether you are the property owner, the builder, the contractor, or the attorney, you should come to this meeting with all the information, plans, maps, whatever, in hand so that there can be intelligent conversation with the staff member and the staff member can give thoughtful answers.

Yes, you may already know what all the answers are or already know what the response to your application will be, but relationship building is just as important as any discussion about setback requirements or easements.

A couple of years ago, I had a meeting with a member of a planning and zoning department of a city in the area. I had genuine questions about how staff would interpret certain ordinances and how and why it had applied certain ordiances to piece of real property in the past. I had met with the staff member numerous times in the past. She did not know me by my first name, but she recognized me. She knew that I make a habit of meeting with staff before I jump into projects for clients so that I can get city input and handle things as smoothly as possible. In our meeting, which was pretty quick, she gave me the expected answers which all but killed my client's plan, but then she talked me through how my client could make the plan work and how I could use the ordinances to my client's advantage. It all worked out great.

It is important to take the time to meet the people who are going to play an key role in your development or building process. No, phone calls do not count. Have that first meeting, and then make the phone calls with your additional questions.

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Erik Moore, Esq.
Ghafoor, Cook & Associates
136 E. Walnut, Suite 300
Independence, MO 64050
816-373-7379
816-222-0757 fax
emoore@ghafoorcook.com

Back to Normal Life

These past two weeks have been crazy and very unproductive with regard to keeping up with posting. I was ready and gunning for a three day jury trial to start today, but, thanks to a good mediation session with opposing counsel and his client, we were able to settle the case last week. I figured we would get this case settled before trial, but, if we didn't, I needed to be ready to pick a jury and roll out the evidence. After leaving the mediation having reached settlement, I felt like I was on summer vacation. My schedule was wide open, the sun was out, and the weight was off my shoulders. I was also disappointed to not be taking my case to trial, though. That is what I do, and I get that rush from "game time."

I do want to give a plug for the mediation process. The last two times I have taken cases to mediation, we have reached a good settlement for both sides. I think this is a good process for both sides to talk out the issues of the case, have a respected and neutral third-party discuss the case with you, and avoid the huge cost of trying a case. Some times it does not work. I like to at least try.

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Erik Moore, Esq.
Ghafoor, Cook & Associates
136 E. Walnut, Suite 300
Independence, MO 64050
816-373-7379
816-222-0757 fax
emoore@ghafoorcook.com

Making the Case for Small Law Firms

There is an interesting story in the Kansas City Star today detailing what some Kansas City lawyers charge for hourly rates. There are rates in the $400 to $500 range! It also has numbers for average hourly rates for St. Louis and Missouri as a whole. The average hourly rate for Missouri is listed at $207, which is probably pulled up by the hourly rates of these big firm attorneys. It should be noted that the individual hourly rates listed are only fees charged by large Kansas City law firm attorneys, and it is verly likely that there are small firm attorneys and solos out there who charge fees this high because their expertise and experience is in such high demand.

However, the story makes a good case for not hiring the big firm attorneys if you are a small to mid-size business or investor. Why pay for the extra overhead and large expensive law office with a marble floors or in-house gym when you can get the high quality representation and advice plus the personal attention and direct contact from your attorney at half cost? Of course, being a small firm attorney, I could be biased.

As a side note, the Kansas City Royals are in first place with 1-0 record having beat the Detriot Tigers yesterday. We're on a roll!

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Erik Moore, Esq.
Ghafoor, Cook & Associates
136 E. Walnut, Suite 300
Independence, MO 64050
816-373-7379
816-222-0757 fax
emoore@ghafoorcook.com