If the owner knows the value of the land is just gonna keep going up with no additional effort on their part, why spend the money to build anything on it?

First of all doesn't the value of land go up every year even he does put something on it? Wouldn't it go up even more if it there was something on it?

Secondly why do you want to punish the owner just because land values go up.

What are you going to do to make the value of the land go down anyway?

People need to be punished because it’s been over ten years and as I look out my office window right now I can see two derelict decaying buildings and two enormous empty gravel lots.

I don't think people should be punished because of your feelings though.

You’re really happy for our central city to remain half-finished indefinitely?

If that's the price of freedom then yes.

It’s a national embarrassment that we haven’t managed to rebuild the city yet

I could go on and on about national embarrassments in this country. You think empty lots are an embarrassment? Take a look at the buildings in most cities, take a look at most houses FFS. Leaky, poorly insulated, mouldy, run down, fragile buildings as far as the eye can see.