Suggested questions to be answered by planners

Everytime I watch the architectural-standards committee or the ordinance-review committee of the Fayetteville City Council on Government Channel 16, the same thoughts come up.

The committee members are not asking all the important questions while they have a chance. Maybe that is because the planners don't bring up all the important issues and developers and builders never mention them.

Some things I wish the developers and planners could tell us upfront and buyers and renters could be certain of before committing:

PRACTICALITY
How long will this building or group of houses last?

Will they be there longer than buildings that had stood there before and were removed to make space for the new development?

SAFETY
Will they withstand a tornado or an earthquake? Will at least some fully contained rooms survive such a disaster?

Are they safe from flooding from adjacent property even if 10 times the recorded previous maximum rain should occur?

Are the various types of structural material resistant enough to fire to make sure no can ever die from smoke or flame in the buildings?

Are there adequate provisions being made for facilitating changes in technology regardless of whether new pipes, cables or wires, etc., will be needed 50 years in the future? Major renovation should not be required to in order to add features.

SUSTAINABILITY
Are the buildings going to be easily adapted to the use of solar panels or harbor their own windmills for power production?

Are the buildings going to accomodate a green (vegetated) roof?

Are landscaping plans going to utilize raingardens and rain-retention containers to provide for pets and native plants?

Are site-preparation plans going to reduce removal or burying of existing soil and trees and vegetation?

Are whole developmentments going to be compatible with surrounding existing neighborhoods?

Are the setbacks going to be adequate to allow privacy and access?

After those questions are answered positively, then the superficial things can be discussed:


How will it look?
Will there be enough diversity in multi-unit developments to allow people to go straight home without a moment's hesitation?
The list of standard questions is already on record.

Here is a not-so-radical and certainly not new question that would require some changes in state law:

Can the bank finance future property tax as well as the annual property tax? While no firm figure can be determined, some sort of estimate of projected real-estate tax could be made on the assumption that a future-tax reserve fund could be maintained for all identities that currently benefit from property tax so that a person could pay his future tax while paying for the property. The potential interest on such a fund possibly would amount to more than the actual future tax growth because raising tax rates is always controversial and limited by law and the will of the people.
Under the current system, a person making payments on a standard mortgage can't lose his property to a tax lien. However, a person who has paid off his mortgage immediately is at risk of failing to pay and having a lien placed on his property. Those who pay cash should be required to pay into the same fund at the same rate but with a discount if they pay the total upfront. Such a system could eliminate the annual race by the moneyed class to take away property being auctioned for failure to pay property taxes, along with an expensive bureacratic nightmare.
Might be nice to actually own something outright for the rest of one's life and to be assured that heirs can't lose it for failure to pay taxes later.

Protecting the property in perpetuity might be impossible, but a 100-year term would be nice for the heirs, who might be much more interested in maintaining inherited property if it didn't also require an additional tax burden.