Site Improvement Handbook For Multifamily Housing

Illustrated in full color, this authoritative resource explains best practices, techniques, and trends in multifamily housing developments.

The Supreme Court decision that property owners may be entitled to compensation for government regulations that deprive them of reasonable use of their property has thrown the land-use field into a state of turmoil. Will municipal land-use ordinances be found excessive? What regulations can be considered a reasonable exercise of police power for public health, safety, and welfare? Will municipalities be liable for compensation to property owners if development is restricted? How can municipalities and developers plan in the wake of this decision?Ordinance provisions cover components of subdivision regulation: general provisions, definitions, administration, procedure, design and improvements, off-tract improvements, and documents to be submitted. The Subdivision and Site Plan Handbook provides a narrative on the background, rationale, and intent of each requirement accompanying the model ordinance; gives an overview of the history of subdivision regulation in the United States; traces the evolution of land-use regulation through various stages; and presents the legal context for present-day regulation.The book has been designed for use by government administrators, developers, planners, attorneys, and others interested in land-use regulation. The model ordinance represents the most current thinking about land use and site control and responds to questions raised by the Supreme Court decision. David Listokin and Carole Walker's analyses are flexible, efficient, responsive to local conditions, and balance regulatory costs and benefits. This is a definitive and invaluable resource!

Whether you?re a first-time real estate investor or a seasoned professional, The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings helps you map out your future, find apartment buildings at a fair price, finance purchases, and manage your properties. Now revised and expanded, this Second Edition includes tax planning advice, case studies of real acquisitions, and appendixes that add detail to the big picture. Plus, it includes a handy glossary of all the terms investors need to know, helpful sample forms that make paperwork quick and easy, and updated real estate forecasts. With this comprehensive guide at hand you?ll find profits easy to come by.

From the Introduction: Consider these two places: Walking into Green Acres, you immediately sense that you have entered an oasis-traffic noise left behind, negative urban distractions out of sight, children playing and running on the grass, adults puttering on plant-filled balconies. Signs of life and care for the environment abound. Innumerable social and physical clues communicate to visitors and residents alike a sense of home and neighborhood. This is a place that people are proud of, a place that children will remember in later years with nostalgia and affection, a place that just feels "good." Contrast this with Southside Village. Something does not feel quite right. It is hard to find your way about, to discern which are the fronts and which are the backs of the houses, to determine what is "inside" and what is "outside." Strangers cut across what might be a communal backyard. There are no signs of personalization around doors or on balconies. Few children are around; those who are outside ride their bikes in circles in the parking lot There are few signs of caring; litter, graffiti, and broken light fixtures indicate the opposite. There is no sense of place; it is somewhere to move away from, not somewhere to remember with pride. These are not real locations, but we have all seen places like them. The purpose of this book is to assist in the creation of more places like Green Acres and to aid in the rehabilitation of the many Southside Villages that scar our cities. This book is a collection of guidelines for the site design of low-rise, high-density family housing. It is intended as a reference tool, primarily for housing designers and planners, but also for developers, housing authorities, citizens' groups, and tenants' organizations-anyone involved in planning or rehabilitating housing. It provides guidelines for the layout of buildings, open spaces, community facilities, play areas, walkways, and the myriad components that make up a housing site.