Local realtors weigh in on changes to commission from the National Association of Realtors.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Following a recent settlement the National Association of Realtors has decided to do away with standard commissions, giving the consumer the power to negotiate. However, according to local real estate professionals the consumer has always had this power.
“This is actually how the commercial real estate industry works as of now,” said realtor and co-owner of Prime Real Estate, James Sandoval.
He said that the two rules coming down from the National Association of Realtors are: 1. Making a buyer representation agreement mandatory, and 2. No longer disclosing the commissions in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
“In the Coastal Bend you’ll see 2.5% and 2.5% for buy and sell or you’ll see 3% and 3%,” Sandoval said. “At the end of the day, it’s all negotiable.”
According to Sandoval both buyers’ agents and sellers’ agents are still going to be compensated but now it’s based on negotiations.
“This is an emotional transaction that involves a lot more than opening and closing doors,” he said. “This involves a whole lot more.”
The Chism Atnip team, who has a combined experience of 37 years in real estate explained how these new changes benefit the consumer.
“I think some consumers didn’t understand the buyer’s representation agreement, but it’s like you wouldn’t ask your doctor to perform a surgery without checking him and getting guarantee that he was licensed to perform that surgery,” Char Atnip said. “Now I think the consumer will be doing a little bit more homework which is a good thing for everybody involved.”
Sandoval explained that more people might be tempted to represent themselves but that’s a great opportunity for agents to sell their skills and what they bring to the table.
“The real representation happens when you guys go into contract, and we leverage the fact we know people such as inspectors, escrow officers, title insurance, everything,” he said. “It entails it’s a team of people not just a realtor.”
The changes to real estate commissions will go before a federal judge and if approved will go into effect this summer.
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(NEXSTAR) — Much like that one set of neighbors who lives down the street, Home Depot is debuting its Halloween decorations entirely too early.
The powers that be at Home Depot — who are highly aware that Easter hasn’t even occurred yet — are already previewing the upcoming offerings from the company’s 2024 Halloween lineup, which includes an “improved” 12-foot skeleton and several of his gruesome new friends.
“This is the earliest we have ever announced any of our Halloween products. We wanted to share what is coming for our Halloween superfans,” a Home Depot spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “Decorating for Halloween is a yearlong journey to find the best décor and plan their expansive displays for the spookiest time of the year.”
Among this year’s offerings is of course “Skelly,” the ever-popular 12-foot skeleton decoration that routinely sells out ahead of Halloween. This latest version of Skelly is also said to be “new and improved,” with eight additional settings for his LCD eyes, according to a Home Depot product sheet shared with Nexstar.
As announced on Instagram last week, Skelly will have new a “companion” available for purchase, too: a 5-foot “Skeleton Dog” with similar LCD eyes.
Home Depot is also teasing six other new-for-2024 characters, some of whom aren’t completely free of flesh:
- a 7-foot animatronic Frankenstein’s monster which plays “iconic lines from the Frankenstein movie”
- a 7.5-foot animatronic “Plague Doctor” programmed to utter “three unique phrases”
- a 10-foot “Murderous Maple” with light-up facial features
- a 9-foot “Lord Dullahan” headless (skeleton) horseman, naturally atop a skeleton horse
- a 6-foot animatronic “Captain Cuts” pirate with “five dynamic movement and five phrases”
- a 6-foot “Jack of Spades” described as a “card-playing skeleton” with motion sensors and “seasonal phrases.”
“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites,” Lance Allen, Home Depot’s senior merchant of decorative holiday, said of this year’s lineup. “Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”
Aside from confirming that Skelly will be sold for the “consistent price” of $299, Home Depot has yet to disclose complete pricing information for the rest of its upcoming Halloween items. Representatives for Home Depot’s PR team also neglected to mention whether the decorations will be available to purchase anytime, or if your neighbors will be forced to wait until after Memorial Day to put a homicidal maple tree on their lawn.
“We can’t confirm any official launch dates, but make sure to follow our social channels for more information about our Halloween assortment launch this summer,” the company wrote on Instagram.
Hello, and welcome to another edition of WMUR’s Adopt This Pet. Live and Let Live Farm Rescue is a haven for all sorts of animals who are looking for new homes, and Major is one of them.Major is an 8-month-old Boxer mix. He enjoys interacting with children and has all the energy in the world to keep up with the kiddos. He has been good with other dogs he has met, as well as with dog-friendly cats. Major loves to go on adventures with his doggy friends, so he is hoping that his new household will have another pup to play with him. If not, perhaps regular visits to the dog park, where Major can interact with others whose tails are wagging, will be great.Major is looking for an active family that hikes a lot and will provide Major with plenty of exercise.For more information, contact Teresa Paradis with Live and Let Live:www.LiveAndLetLiveFarm.orgemail: info@liveandletlivefarm.org ; tehorse@aol.com,20 Paradise LaneChichester, NH 03258
Hello, and welcome to another edition of WMUR’s Adopt This Pet.
Live and Let Live Farm Rescue is a haven for all sorts of animals who are looking for new homes, and Major is one of them.
Major is an 8-month-old Boxer mix. He enjoys interacting with children and has all the energy in the world to keep up with the kiddos. He has been good with other dogs he has met, as well as with dog-friendly cats.
Major loves to go on adventures with his doggy friends, so he is hoping that his new household will have another pup to play with him. If not, perhaps regular visits to the dog park, where Major can interact with others whose tails are wagging, will be great.
Major is looking for an active family that hikes a lot and will provide Major with plenty of exercise.
For more information, contact Teresa Paradis with Live and Let Live:
www.LiveAndLetLiveFarm.org
email: info@liveandletlivefarm.org ; tehorse@aol.com,
20 Paradise Lane
Chichester, NH 03258
The median cost of a home in Yellowstone County increased 1.9 percent between 2022 and 2023, a marked decrease from recent years, according to data collected by the Billings Association of Realtors (BAR).
But, after a few years of massive price jumps including a 16.1 percent increase between 2021 and 2022 and 19.2 percent increase between 2020 and 2021, homes were 50 percent more expensive last year than in 2019, with a median price of $367,000.
So far, in 2024, 246 homes have been sold, with a median sales price of $358,950.
According to Bob Leach, a local realtor who tracks housing market data, the median family income in Billings is $72,300, making the affordable price of a home somewhere between $143,700 and $237,000. And that’s with 20 percent down, which few first time home buyers even have.
These days, there isn’t much inventory that falls within that range.
Between 2018 and 2023, there was an 85 percent decrease in homes under $200,000, and a 75 percent decrease in homes between $200,000 and $300,000, according to Leach.
Meanwhile, there was a 51 percent increase in homes between $300,000 and $400,000, a 360 percent increase in homes between $400,000 and $500,000, and a 644 percent increase in homes over $500,000.
Yet last year the market showed signs of cooling. It was the first year since 2021 in which sales prices were lower than list prices. Houses also were on the market for longer, with a median of 16 days on the market, compared with 5 and 6 days for 2021 and 2022 respectively.
And there were just 2,115 homes sold in 2023, the fewest number of homes sold in a year since at least 2018. Home sales are down 30 percent last year compared to 2020, according to Leach.
This is partially due to higher interest rates, according to Mikayla Kovash, President of the Billings Association of Realtors.
“We got used to seeing the four percent interest rate, but historically, seven percent is not a terrifying interest rate,” she said.
Kovash said that if buyers hold out for lower interest rates, they may end up paying more in a more competitive housing market.
“Even if they’re paying a seven to eight percent interest rate today, they may be getting a home for 10 percent less than they would in a lower interest rate market,” she said.
NEW HOMES
An additional 1,122 new housing units were built in Billings last year, including 272 single family homes, 94 duplexes, 62 townhouses, and 687 units in multifamily complexes.
This was more units built than in 2021 and 2022 combined. There were no more than 500 residential building permits per year from 2018 through 2022, though the city averaged 675 new units from 2003-2008.
“We’ve been underbuilding for a long time,” Leach said.
There were 2,670 new housing units built from 2020 through 2023. Of these new homes, 44.6 percent were single family homes and 35.6 percent were in multifamily complexes. The remaining 20 percent were townhouses and duplexes.
The city’s Building Division does not track whether multifamily units are rentals or condos, but Jessica Fust, the department’s director, said the majority are rentals.
This is a cause of concern for Leach, who believes there should be more pathways to home ownership, such as building more “entry level” homes, or homes under 1,400 square feet.
There has been an average of just 39 entry level homes built per year in Billings over the past eight years.
Meanwhile, there are 6,791 households in the city on waitlists for affordable and public housing. This is up from 6,200 on wait lists in 2020, according to a report by the city’s Community Development Division.
“There is a housing deficit of over 4,700 units for households with incomes less than 30% of the AMI [area median income],” the 2020 report reads.
And behind all the markets and development is zoning, or the regulations created by the government about what can be built on a given piece of land. The city overhauled zoning in 2021, the first major update in 40 years.
And yet this past January, City Council passed an initiative to explore 10 new zoning changes, including getting rid of minimum parking requirements and encouraging mixed residential/commercial development.
“There have been big changes in the housing market since recode was adopted,” said Councilman Tom Rupsis, who proposed the initiative.
At the state level, zoning changes to promote development that passed through the legislature last year are facing legal challenges.
“I’m not really of the mindset that we should wait for the state to figure their stuff out,” Rupsis said. “This is us taking fate into our own hands.”
New York – Backed by a majority investment made by Gordon Brothers in early 2022, the Nicole Miller brand is now stepping up its presence in the home sphere with a dedicated team to manage the brand and a slate of new supplier partners.
And as the Nicole Miller brand marks its 40th anniversary this year, a plethora of home textiles products will make their debut during New York Home Fashions Market.
“We see home as a big opportunity for Nicole Miller. Our strategic partnerships with our licensees bring us an exciting opportunity to give more value to consumers while still offering Nicole’s iconic aesthetic,” said Carolyn D’Angelo, senior managing director at Gordon Brothers, who oversees Nicole Miller.
The full roster of Nicole Miller Home licensees:
- Avanti (towels, shower curtains, bath accessories)
- Azzure (home décor, frames)
- Brittanica (fashion, basic, utility & baby bedding)
- Continuum (kitchen)
- Dream Home (dec pillows, throws, kitchen textiles)
- Graham & Brown (wallpaper, wall murals)
- Home Dynamix (rugs, mats, pet beds window)
- Home Essentials (glassware, barware, dinnerware)
- Inspired Home (indoor furniture)
- Prestige Patio (outdoor furniture)
Gordon Brothers’ Nicole Miller team is based at the Nicole Miller office and works across brand management, licensing, marketing and design. Miller remains actively involved with the brand as founder and brand ambassador.
“The archive is extensive, encompassing a wide array of design prints and fabrics. Nicole’s expertise in this diverse landscape allows us to readily access and utilize them,” said Anthony Noberini, senior creative director for home brands, Gordon Brothers.
Nicole Miller launched in 1982 and became well known in the fashion industry. Miller is a Council of Fashion Designers of America Inc. member and has been the recipient of numerous industry awards.
“My home is an extension of my creative outlet and I’m thrilled to be adding new categories to help infuse more color, design and joy into our customer’s homes,” said Miller.
The Nicole Miller brand is rooted in fashion and has evolved into a full lifestyle brand with over 45 categories, noted Preeti Singh, VP of marketing, Nicole Miller.
“By leveraging social media and content creators, with Pinterest being a focus for the home category, we see a lot of potential in expanding our reach and tapping into new audiences,” she added. “There is opportunity to capture a younger consumer as well based on distribution and price point offerings.”
Authorities removed a 750-pound alligator from a residence in upstate New York last week, officials announced Friday.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation wrote in a Facebook post that its officers seized a 750-pound alligator from an individual’s residence in Hamburg, New York on March 13. The department noted that the individual had a license for the alligator but that it had expired in 2021.
The department said the individual “built an addition to his house and installed an in-ground swimming pool for his roughly 30-year-old alligator, and allegedly allowed members of the public to get into the water to pet the unsecured alligator.” The department added that the alligator has “numerous health issues,” including blindness in two eyes and complications with its spine.
“Authorities turned the alligator over to a licensed caretaker who will house and care for the animal until it can be properly transported for permanent care. Analysis of additional evidence seized during the warrant and consultation with a licensed veterinarian will determine any future potential charges,” the department wrote in the post.
CNN affiliate WKBW reported that Tony Cavallaro is the owner of the alligator and that someone has started a petition on behalf of him to get his alligator, named Albert, back. According to the online petition, Cavallaro said that he hopes to regain custody of the alligator and said that the department changed the rules around the permits.
“I’ve had him 34 years and abided by all of them and renewed my permit annually as required. I tried renewing it when they changed their rules and had questions to ask. They ignored my emails and phone calls to make sure I did everything right even though I should be grandfathered in. I will have a court date when they provide it,” he said, according to the petition.
The department also said that it worked with the Town of Hamburg Police Department and The Erie County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to seize the gator.
The Hill has reached out to the department and Cavallaro for comment.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Mark Wahlberg says his family can “thrive” in their new home of Nevada.
The ‘Boogie Nights’ actor, 52, are now settled in Las Vegas after he moved there with his wife Rhea Dunham, 45, and their four children from California in 2022.
He told People about how they are loving their new home: “It’s a place where my kids can thrive and do their thing and pursue their interests.
“Everybody’s adapted nicely. The kids are all out at school, and everybody’s happy.”
Mark said on ‘The Talk’ in 2022 ahead of the move he wanted to turn Vegas into “Hollywood 2.0”, declaring: “After this gubernatorial election, hopefully we go to legislation and get a bill passed so we can get tax credits for the state, build a state-of-the-art studio here and make this Hollywood 2.0. I want to be able to work from home.”
The actor and his wife Rhea, who he married in August 2009, have daughters Ella, 20, and Grace, 14, and sons Michael, 17, and 15-year-old Brendan.
Mark said he “only made a couple of movies in the entire time” he lived in California, so it made sense for him and his family to move away.
He added: “So to be able to give my kids a better life and follow and pursue their dreams – whether it be my daughter as an equestrian, my son as a basketball player, my younger son as a golfer – this made a lot more sense for us.”
He added he and his wife saw the move to Nevada as a chance to “give ourselves a new look” and create “a fresh start for the kids”.
Mark’s latest film ‘Arthur the King’, based on Mikael Lindnord’s 2017 book ‘Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home’, sees the actor play an athlete who keeps encountering a stray dog while taking part in an endurance race across the Dominican Republic.
He and his teammates end up taking in the canine, who they name Arthur the King, and making him their mascot.
Mark said about bonding with the animal: “He actually was my neighbour in the Dominican Republic, and so he would, when his trainer would let him out of the house, I would whistle to him and he would run ahead of her.
“And by the time she got over to the house, he had already had a couple steaks and a couple of pieces of chicken and we became fast friends.”
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — A Baldwin County veteran’s everyday life will be a little easier thanks to the national nonprofit organization Homes For Our Troops.
The organization — which aims to help rebuild injured veterans’ lives through adapted, custom homes — has donated an accessible home to Marine Staff Sgt. Johnny Morris of Elberta, Alabama. Morris was reportedly severely injured while serving in Afghanistan.
“On July 2, 2011, during his third deployment, Staff Sergeant Morris was the EOD team leader on an improvised explosive device (IED) defeat mission in the Sangin River Valley, Afghanistan. When he stepped on an IED, SSgt. Morris sustained severe damage to both his legs in the blast, including the traumatic amputation of his left foot,” a Homes For Our Troops news release said.
Morris’s new home features over 40 adaptations, including widened doorways for wheelchair access, a roll-in shower, pull-down shelving, and lowered countertops.
According to the release, “The home will also alleviate the mobility and safety issues associated with a traditional home, including navigating a wheelchair through narrow hallways or over thresholds, riding on carpets, or reaching for cabinets that are too high.”
It’s all possible with contributions from donors, supporters, and corporate partners.
Morris, who now works as a charter fishing captain and volunteers at various veterans’ organizations, is set to move into the new home with his wife, Natalie, and two kids, Gage and Gabrielle.
“It is very hard to go from the best shape of your life, being in charge of keeping your brothers safe in a war zone, to needing constant help with everything. It can be overwhelming. These homes help to regain some of the independence that we miss and crave. Thank you very much,” said Morris.
Alcoholics Anonymous use sobriety coins representing the amount of time the member has remained sober. (PHOTO BY, BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER/SCNG)
The sober living home where Christopher Lee Kearns allegedly tried to kill his 8-year-old son with a screwdriver bills itself as a calm, quiet, “working man’s” place.
Rent is $175 a week or $700 a month. Folks must have a job or be looking for one. They must attend mandatory house meetings and are encouraged to attend 12 step meetings as well. “A very good group of guys that are all straight and sober,” a recent Craigslist ad said. “Including weed!”
Kearns, 28, has been charged with attempted murder and child abuse and endangerment. He has pleaded not guilty.
“The incident with Chris was not at all typical of what we expect to see at a sober living home,” said the home’s owner by text. If he had instead rented the house to a family, and a parent attacked a child, things could have turned out much worse.
Instead, the house manager heard an odd whimpering, the owner said. He followed the sound, and interrupted the attack. The house manager “believes he was used by God to save the boy’s life,” the owner said.
Look. Teatotalers snap. Terrible things happen every day, everywhere. But this tragic episode came just as the oft-nettlesome issues posed by using neighborhood housing as a place for sober homes and state-licensed addiction treatment centers — a practice that’s particularly common in Orange County, America’s addiction fraud capital and nexus of the “Rehab Riviera” — are high on official radar.
Emergency call data shows these facilities can introduce spasms of chaos into once-quiet communities.
A gaggle of bills is moving through the legislative sausage grinder in Sacramento, aiming to raise the professionalism of private operators in this highly lucrative space. The bills would also empower local governments to do more to ensure those inside these homes are safe.
“I live next door to a sober living home,” said Sherman Fowler of San Clemente, in videotaped testimony for state auditors. At the sober home near Fowler, turnover is so high it’s hard to know who lives there and who doesn’t. People come and go at all hours of the night. There’s noise and — one of the most ubiquitous complaints — incessant smoke from the one addiction recovering users may still indulge: cigarettes.
“Data points need to be collected,” Fowler said. “We should know how many people are being curbed. We should know how many people are dying in these facilities. We should know if there are certified, qualified people running these facilities.”
‘Enforcement’
“Here’s the deal: one of my concerns is enforcement,” said Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana. Because current law restricts enforcement power to state officials, Umberg’s bill would simply extend that power to local officials — people such as city attorneys and district attorneys who, currently, hear a constant barrage of complaints but can’t do much to address them.
“Since it’s limited in terms of the ‘who’ part, we’re expanding the ‘who’ part,” Umberg said. “Orange County, for whatever reason, has become a magnet for these things.”
Also:
- In what would be a victory for consumers and transparency, a bill by Assemblymember Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Niguel, would require licensed rehabs to publicly own up to their shortcomings by disclosing, on their web sites, “if a legal, disciplinary or other enforcement action has been brought” by state regulators, and the program was found to be in violation.
- Another bill, by Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, would clarify exactly what sober living homes/recovery residences are (“primary housing for individuals seeking cooperative living arrangements that support personal recovery from substance use disorders”) and allow local governments to require permits if they house seven or more people. It would also allow local governments to require a 1,000 feet separation between sober living homes and state-licensed addiction treatment facilities. That would help prevent the “institutionalization” of neighborhoods.
- A bill by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, D-Anaheim, would acknowledge the reality that many sober homes aren’t organic collections of like-minded folks just trying to stay sober, but affiliates of lucrative treatment businesses. Folks often go to these sober homes after finishing a provider’s intensive (and expensive) residential in-patient treatment, then report to the provider’s central location for (less-expensive but still insurance-billable) outpatient treatment. Such homes would not be considered “residential use of property” when evidence demonstrates that they’re “an integral part of a licensed drug treatment facility located elsewhere.”
- Another, by Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, would make some technical changes to the laws governing licensing and regulation.
Spasms of chaos
That’s how private addiction treatment works in California. These facilities — fueled by floods of insurance money and folks with deep pockets — can introduce spasms of chaos into neighborhoods.
In Mission Viejo, just 10 state-licensed addiction treatment homes generated 84 emergency service calls, including 35 disturbances, 15 assists from county paramedics (largely for overdoses) and reports of attempted suicide, battery, vandalism, fraud, mental health crises and gunshots, according to three years of data from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The Southern California Sober Living Task Force, chaired by Davies and Mission Viejo Councilmember Wendy Bucknam, is a bi-partisan coalition of local and state officials, law enforcement and residents working to raise the bar on the industry. It requested the emergency data and is awaiting more. It underscores the point officials are trying to drive home: That these facilities aren’t run-of-the-mill neighbors, but crucibles for people in various stages of crisis, people who need more protection and support.
“The data demonstrates the immediate need for reform from multiple perspectives,” Bucknum said. “On one hand, it further validates residents’ concerns related to safety and quality of life. On the other, it’s clear individuals in these homes who are suffering from addiction or other mental health issues need and deserve proper care in an appropriate setting — but that’s not what they are getting. Without meaningful oversight or regulation of sober living homes, everyone loses.”
It’s easy enough to track emergency calls to state-licensed centers — everyone knows where those are. But tracking calls to sober living homes is another thing entirely. That’s because sober homes don’t provide treatment, so don’t need to be licensed. As a matter of law, they’re simply groups of recovering addicts living together in supportive environments and must be treated as any other family.
You might live next to one and not know it — but you’d be very lucky. Mission Viejo does know where nine of the sober homes in its boundaries are. Sheriff’s data shows that those homes generated 67 emergency calls over the same period, for overdoses, disturbances, mental health crises, burglary, theft, vandalism, assault, “person down” and one dead body.
In Dana Point, 18 state-licensed facilities generated 42 emergency calls for service over a single year. There were disturbances, overdoses, mental health crises, evictions, welfare checks.
“We have kids escaping and running up to people in private residences, asking to use phone,” said Laura Thomas of Orange Park Acres, who lives near a dozen treatment centers for youngsters clustered within roughly one mile, and is accustomed to hearing screams after dark.
“The kids are all with no shoes,” she said. That’s apparently to keep them from getting far if they run away.
‘Human trafficking’
In 2015, there were 52,404 overdose deaths in the U.S.
In 2021, there were 106,699 overdose deaths, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Addiction is a life-or-death medical issue, but it has been cleaved from the greater health care system. You need an actual doctor to treat your heart condition, but a former house painter or contractor can open a private-pay addiction treatment center in California to treat your addiction. No doctor on staff, but still able to charge thousands of dollars per person, per day.
That makes each user a dollar sign on legs.
“From the insurance fraud angle, there are so many different violations of the law that occur and it’s so lucrative and the dollar amounts are so high,” David Stark, health care fraud investigator with the Orange County District Attorney’s office, told Sober Living Task Force members recently.
“Unfortunately — and this does really impact the local communities — the resources we have for investigating, the length of time of these investigations, the lengthy court process and then, in the end, the short jail sentences that they receive — it encourages recidivism.”
Sobriety doesn’t generate dollars for rehabs. Addiction does. Folks are not worth anything if they finish their 90 days of treatment and go home sober to Ohio, so they’re often paid to party and start the whole treatment cycle over again.
Stark’s last assignment was as a human trafficking detective. Patients here on the Rehab Riviera strike him as victims caught in a similar web.
“We’ve had conversations with people who have been convicted and have been in state and federal prison,” Stark said. “We ask, ‘What are you going to do when you get out?’ They say, ‘I’m going to go right back to it.’ Why wouldn’t they? If you’re making that much money with that little penalty –
“That’s my plea. Put ’em away…. The more resources we can get — legislative, investigative — we’ll take everything we can get.”
The gaggle of bills aims to do that.
“We’re trying to get some protections to safeguard vulnerable residents and not allow bad actors to control the industry in Southern California,” said Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, who was instrumental putting together Costa Mesa’s ordinances governing sober living homes, apparently the toughest in the state. Those ordinances have survived some court challenges, are pending in others, and are being copied by cities and counties with similar struggles.
“The message that I’m sending is that we in Orange County care about helping people recover in professional, healthy, safe environments,” Foley said. “But it cannot be a free-for-all. There has to be regulatory oversight so we can protect people at their most vulnerable time from getting turned onto street and made homeless, overdosing on site, wandering off and getting killed, from bad operators who have no business trying to help counsel or manage people in recovery.”
Nearly 100 new homes are to be built in a small village on the Somerset border.
Somerset Council had refused permission for the development on the B3167 Perry Street in South Chard, formerly an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).
However, the developers launched a successful appeal with the Planning Inspectorate in October 2023, with a public inquiry sitting on 8 February.
People who opposed it said it would create “an intrinsic change of character” to the village.
Residents who attended the inquiry raised various concerns, including about localised flooding and the impact on the River Axe catchment area.
However, upholding the appeal, planning inspector Rekha Sabu said: “Balanced against the harm, the proposal would contribute up to 95 dwellings to the local housing supply. Given the housing shortfall, I attribute significant weight to this benefit.”
She said adverse impacts of the proposal “do not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits”.
As part of the plans, Bath developer the Crossman Group has pledged to provide more than £894,000 for local education, including nearly £334,000 to ensure sufficient capacity at Holyrood Academy and more than £502,000 towards a future primary school in Chard.
The Crossman Group applied in December 2021 for outline permission to build up to 97 homes on the site, on the edge of Dorset, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.
The site lies between Perry Street and Factory Lane, not far from the former Chard Junction railway station, and forms part of the wider Tatworth area.
The plans, which were revised down to 95 homes, were refused by the council’s planning committee south last June over concerns about over-development, road safety and the impact on local rivers.
The developer lodged an appeal in a bid to overturn this decision, and the planning inspector has in the developer’s favour.
The new homes will range from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses – and of the 95 homes planned, 33 will be affordable.
Planning inspector Ms Sabu also said the proposal “would not harm the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site or the River Axe”.
And concluded the plans would have not have “an unacceptable impact on highway safety” and the loss of agricultural land would not conflict with either Local Plan policy or the National Planning Policy Framework.
A reserved matters application, covering the detailed design and layout of the new homes, is expected to be submitted to the council before the end of the current year.
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