No More Disaster Land Grabs!

1. Disaster Land Grab Playbook

You've seen it before:

After a Major Disaster:

1. Developers Circle: Destroyed properties like vultures (see opportunity)
2. Pressure Owners: "Sell now before property value plummets"
3. Lowball Offers: 50-70% below market value (exploit desperation)
4. Buy in Bulk: Assemble large parcels
5. Rebuild: Luxury condos or resorts (never affordable housing)
6. Displace: Original residents (can't afford to return)

Historical Examples:

Hurricane Katrina (2005):

• New Orleans: Developers bought destroyed homes in Lower 9th Ward (Black neighborhood)
  • Paid $20,000 for homes worth at least $100,000 (pre-Katrina)
  • Built luxury housing and displaced Black residents
  • Result: Lower 9th Ward went from 14,000 residents (pre-Katrina) → 2,500 (2020)
    • 80% population loss, mostly Black families

Paradise, CA (Camp Fire, 2018):

• 85 Dead and 18,000 Structures Were Destroyed
• Developers: Approached survivors in shelters and offered cash
  • $50,000 for land worth $300,000
• Some Accepted: Desperate and needed the money immediately

Maui Fires (Lahaina, 2023):

• 100 Dead and 3,000 Structures Were Destroyed
• Developers: Within days, cold-calling survivors
  • Offering $500,000 for oceanfront land worth $2 million
• Native Hawaiians: Especially targeted (many lack clear title, vulnerable)
• Governor Was Forced to Issue a Moratorium: But only 60 days (inadequate)

2. Federal Disaster Land Protection Act

Automatic Protections:

10-Year Moratorium on Development:

• When Disaster Declared: Automatic 10-year freeze on:
  • Zoning changes (can't rezone residential → commercial)
  • Development permits (can't build new construction)
  • Variances (can't waive regulations)
• Purpose: Give residents time to rebuild and prevents speculation

Right of First Refusal (Residents):

• If the Property Owner Wants to Sell: Must offer to:
  1. Current Residents (if displaced)
  2. Community Land Trust
  3. Local Government
  4. Only then: Outside buyers
• Price: Cannot exceed pre-disaster market value + inflation
  • Prevents lowball offers ("disaster discount" is illegal)

Ban Unsolicited Offers:

• Illegal to Contact Disaster Victims: With purchase offers
  • For 5 years after disaster
• Penalties:
  • First Offense: $150,000 fine
  • Second Offense: $750,000 fine
  • Third Offense: Developer license is permanently revoked

Price Floor:

• All Sales Must Be: At least 90% of pre-disaster assessed value
  • Cannot exploit desperation with lowball offers
• If Lower: Sale is voidable (victim can rescind within 10 years)

Anti-Flipping:

• Cannot Resell Property: For 10 years after disaster
  • Prevents speculators buying cheap and flipping for profit
• Exception: If building affordable/social housing (verified by the local government + the local community)

3. Criminal Prosecution

The Charges:

Predatory Lending/Fraud:

• Targeting Disaster Victims with Lowball Offers: Fraud
• Misrepresenting Property Value: Fraud
• Pressuring in Vulnerable State: Elder abuse laws (if victim elderly) and disability discrimination (if disabled)

Racketeering (RICO):

• Organized Land Grab Schemes: Multiple developers coordinating
• Evidence: Developers sharing lists of victims and coordinating offers

Civil Rights Violations:

• If Targeting Based on Race: (Native Hawaiians and Black residents of Lower 9th Ward)
  • Federal hate crime statutes (deprivation of property based on race)

4. Example Prosecutions

Maui Land Grabbers:

• Identify the 50 Developers/Investors: Who contacted Lahaina survivors
• Charges: Fraud, racketeering, and civil rights violations
• Evidence:
  • Recorded phone calls (cold-calling survivors in shelters)
  • Emails coordinating who to target
  • Lowball offers (50% below value)
• Sentences: 10-20 years in prison each
• Asset Forfeiture: $750 million (all properties seized, returned to Native Hawaiian families)

New Orleans (Post-Katrina, Retroactive):

• Investigate the Developers Who Bought Lower 9th Ward Properties (2005-2008):
  • If evidence of fraud, coercion: Prosecute (no statute of limitations on civil rights violations)
• Land Returned: To original families or descendants
  • If developed: Developers forfeit properties (given to community land trust)

5. Community Land Trust Priority

After a Disaster:

• Government Acquires Destroyed Properties: (Eminent domain, if owners are willing to sell)
• Transfers to a Community Land Trust: Not developers
• CLT Rebuilds: Affordable housing for original residents
• Perpetual Affordability: Land never sold to speculators

Lahaina Example:

• 1,000 Properties Were Destroyed
• Government Buys: 500 properties (owners willing to sell, can't afford to rebuild)
• Lahaina Community Land Trust: Rebuilds 500 affordable homes
  • Priority: Native Hawaiian families who lost homes
  • Rent: max $800/month (affordable)
  • Ownership: CLT owns land and residents own homes