I prefer the variant where nobody owns land-- the local government can lease it out on a term basis. Homes might be leased on a long term-- 10-20-100 years, but commercial land should be on 5 years or less.
This gives the local government an opportunity to identify properties that are going into decline and intervene quickly. It also creates an incentive for developers. Any money they put into improvements disappears if they don't meet a minimum anti-blight standard for lease renewal.
My city spent decades playing chicken with the owners of a dead strip mall. This wasn't even "dead" as in "down to a Spirit Halloween and seven smoke shops", it was "fully fenced off and crumbling." This was a decent location-- right opposite a major mall (when they first boarded things up, but finally closed around 2020), 2km from a freeway, 2km from a community college, but the buildings were circa 1979, and the owners really wanted to get the local government to pay part of the cost to renovate it.
Since there was no "normal process" way to regain control of the situation, there were just years of simmering squabbling and occasional legal nastiness, that ended with the city handing out some tax incentive, and suddenly the blight was knocked over for fancy condos inside of 6 months.
Now imagine if that property had been leased from the city. The mall owners close the doors in 1996 or whatever. By 2001, the lease would have expired, and the city could either say "you let it rot, no renewal", retaining an asset with only a few years of decline to repair, or the lessee would have to present-- and deliver-- a compelling refurbishment plan if they expected to keep the lease.
The reason this is not done is for the same reason HOA's are nightmares. It's a conflict of interest to committee others private property. Government becomes incentivized to look for and generate infractions. If you are wondering why politics never truly changes it's because gov power actively suppresses competition.
I would expect the same democratic processes which keep the tax rate below 100% and balance zoning restrictions to limit the downsides there, and that’s more of an option than we’re seeing in areas where private equity funds have been buying up enough land to shift the market in their favor.
This gives the local government an opportunity to identify properties that are going into decline and intervene quickly. It also creates an incentive for developers. Any money they put into improvements disappears if they don't meet a minimum anti-blight standard for lease renewal.
My city spent decades playing chicken with the owners of a dead strip mall. This wasn't even "dead" as in "down to a Spirit Halloween and seven smoke shops", it was "fully fenced off and crumbling." This was a decent location-- right opposite a major mall (when they first boarded things up, but finally closed around 2020), 2km from a freeway, 2km from a community college, but the buildings were circa 1979, and the owners really wanted to get the local government to pay part of the cost to renovate it.
Since there was no "normal process" way to regain control of the situation, there were just years of simmering squabbling and occasional legal nastiness, that ended with the city handing out some tax incentive, and suddenly the blight was knocked over for fancy condos inside of 6 months.
Now imagine if that property had been leased from the city. The mall owners close the doors in 1996 or whatever. By 2001, the lease would have expired, and the city could either say "you let it rot, no renewal", retaining an asset with only a few years of decline to repair, or the lessee would have to present-- and deliver-- a compelling refurbishment plan if they expected to keep the lease.