Common Ground OR-WA

Land value tax would solve this

Rockford, IL sign reads: “EVERYBODY WORKS BUT THE VACANT LOT” I paid $3600 for this lot and will hold till I get $6000. The profit is unearned increment made possible by the presence of this community and enterprise of its people. I take the profit without earning it. For the remedy read “HENRY GEORGE” Yours truly, Fay Lewis

@emry-dinman.bsky.social includes this 1914 activist billboard from Rockford, Illinois that highlights ideas from the economist Henry George:

"The profit is unearned increment made possible by the presence of this community and enterprise of its people." (photo via NY Public Library)

'Everybody works but the empty lot': Some Spokane leaders eye property tax reform to promote building As Spokane city leaders look for new ways to boost development, some are leading the charge for a reform to the property tax system which would shift some of the tax burden off of homes and high rises...

"Most homeowners would see a minor dip in their property tax bill, particularly in poorer areas with lower land values"

www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

That's amazing to hear! May I DM you? I'm sure some of our members who helped get the study started would be interested to hear more.

Oregon currently allows property tax deferral for seniors, and this could be expanded under an overall tax reform. Also consider that seniors in condos today often lose out under Measures 5/50, particularly when compared to a land value tax shift.

There's many ways to look at this, but one particularly important fact for homeowner affordability is that property tax cuts capitalize into higher home prices:
pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/nerc_pub/14/

Another group that could see a tax cut from switching to more of a land value tax: homeowners in outer SE Portland, who currently lose under 50. See Panel C on page 19:
pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/nerc_pub/36/

Successful reform will take a lot of work, but note that the legislature has been interested in this for while. See this 2019 bill which would study a land value tax. It passed the senate but was stymied by the walkout in the house:
olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2019R1/M...

#orleg is looking at this now, with HB 2321 passed in 2025. Studies effects of M5/50 and presents options for reform.
olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/M...

land value tax would replace and mitigate this gap

"The result: Pittsburgh was the only Rust Belt city to experience a downtown building boom during the period. Despite terrible economic conditions, residential building permits increased 15%, and vacant lot sales jumped 17%."

"In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, as the city contended with the worst of the steel collapse, its leaders turned again to land taxation to spur growth and mitigate blight. Under Mayor Richard Caliguiri, the land tax rate spiked to six times the building tax rate."

Pittsburgh had a split-rate property tax for the better part of the 20th century, time to revive it.

Beginning to understand why Mamdani's first move is to reform property taxes lmao what is going on

👀

westhamiltonnews.com/stories/6758...

Is this classroom on an airplane?

Flyer describing a Pacific Northwest Single Stair Design Competition. It is sponsored by Portland: Neighbors Welcome and Strong Towns PDX. It is eligible to Undergrad + Grad students in Oregon and Washington. The prizes are 1st: $1500, 2nd: $1,000 (x2), 3rd: $500 (x3). Important Dates are: November 15th, 2025, which is when registration is due, and April 1st, 2026 which is when submissions are due. To learn more, the website link is PNWDREAMS.ORG

We are excited to announce that we are co-sponsoring a Single Stair Design Competition along with our friends at @strongtownspdx.bsky.social and the University of Oregon School of Architecture! The competition will be open to undergrad + grad students in Oregon and Washington pnwdreams.org

One of our aims has been to make it easier for homeowners to redevelop and further improve their land. This free event tonight looks like a great way to learn about that and connect with some really helpful people!

Home Builders, and Homeowners, Brace for Impact of Kitchen Tariffs

How *not* to alleviate the housing shortage: tax cabinets. Kitchens & bathrooms are already some of the largest cost drivers for housing prices. Renovations have a big multiplier effect on local jobs.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/r...

Let's fix our tax incentives and give Next Portland a solid pipeline of projects to report on!

Adding shareable image for Portland event tonight!

Current and Past Events - Common Ground OR-WA Second social with Strong Towns PDX and Portland: Neighbors Welcome Join us for another lively gathering with Portland: Neighbors Welcome and Strong Towns PDX on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 6 pm. We’ll exc...

Come join us in Portland 6pm TODAY at Steeplejack Brewing! We're meeting up with friends @strongtownspdx.bsky.social and @pnwelcome.bsky.social. All welcome!
2400 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232
commongroundorwa.org/current-and-...

It's not too hard to get started! A great example is PA, where cities have seen real success with LVT:
archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2019...
Here in the PNW, Common Ground OR-WA is working to make LVT possible in your city of choice, and we'd be glad to help if you want to learn more!

Exciting stuff from Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson! In a questionnaire with The Urbanist:
"Spokane is exploring a land value tax (which would require state authorization) as a more progressive alternative to property tax. Seattle should too."
PDF: www.theurbanist.org/wp-content/u...

😍😍😍

She wants to lift the property assessment cap *and* do land value tax.

Hello, based department?

Riding the Westside MAX for the first time in a few years for a work event.

I can't believe there's still no development at Sunset TC. Gov't should buy the land or tax it heavily to get a new neighborhood at that location. It's incredibly transit accessible, not just MAX, lots of buses @trimet.org

Traffic calming, 27x2027, land value tax, and road reallocation are mentioned here.

If you care about those topics, be sure to hear what these District 3 candidates think about them so you can be an informed voter.

We need to do this here!

Portland Election Delivers City's Most Representative Council Ever | Sightline Institute Find audio versions of Sightline articles on any of your favorite podcast platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, and Apple. Well, it’s working!  Portlanders just used proportional ranked choice voting...

Portland, OR, uses a system kind of like the Cleveland system today for city council.
www.sightline.org/2024/11/21/p...

Flyer for job description for housing organization Portland: Neighbors Welcome Text: We're hiring! Interim Executive Director portlandneighborswelcome.org/interim-ed

Hi Portland Neighbors!

We are incredibly excited to announce that we are hiring an interim executive director!

You can find the full details and application instructions on our website: portlandneighborswelcome.org/interim-ed