The Ignoring of Warnings Expedited the Foreclosure Crisis
November 18th, 2009
The housing boom was the result of a tie up of understanding between speculators, investors, bankers, administration and politicians. It led to borrowers being taken for a ride that ultimately led to the expediting of the foreclosure crisis and the Great Depression.
Experts hired by Hillsborough County administration had repeatedly warned that suburban growth is not sustainable – cannot pay for itself. But the commissioners gave the green signal to innumerable projects with the assurance that each would flood the local economy with revenue earnings. Simultaneously they accepted many contributions for campaigning from the builder’s lobby. 50,000 homes have already been approved but are waiting to be built.
In Tampa the situation was the same. New Tampa made its debut in the 90’s by grabbing swaths of pasture land. Promises were made about luxurious prestigious living in communities like Arbor Greene, Cory Lake Isles, West Meadows and Heritage Isles.
Denie Layne of the Sierra Club did put up futile opposition. He said, “It was all about the tax base.” Dick Greco who was then the mayor did not contradict. He said, “That land was going to be built on one way or another. If we didn’t annex it, the city would have gotten absolutely nothing.”
The most glaring example of wrong planning is in Gibsonton in south Hillsborough – noted for its fish farms, trailer parks and travelling carnival workers Jeanie Johnson has been residing here for a long time. She complained about the lack of proper bus services, roads and jobs. So what was the point in building residential units here? The commissioners argued that Gibsonton being a slum could only be remedied by constructing homes on it. In 2000 Commissioner Jim Norman said, “It’s abominable to see the things these people have to live with out there.” He was speaking at the time the board waived all the development fees for the new construction being done there. From 2000 to 2006 the builders took out 2,700 permits in this region that was 32 times more than the total pulled from 1995 to 2000.
The commissioners were not playing the game alone – there were powerful land groups. Ralph Hughes was one of the hands behind the scenes – a Republican with a lot of clout. Before his death in 2008 he became very rich trading in building material with the developers. His customers gained by having their fees waived by the commissioners.
Mostra-se a causa do bom imobiliário, os peritos contratados pela administração do condado de Hillsborough tinha repetidamente alertado que o crescimento suburbano não é sustentável – não pode pagar por si mesmo.
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