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Climate Change And Sustainable Development: The Quest For Green Communities, Part Ii, John R. Nolon Nov 2009

Climate Change And Sustainable Development: The Quest For Green Communities, Part Ii, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This is the second part of Professor John R. Nolon’s two-part series on climate change mitigation through sustainable development law. Part I ran in October 2009 http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawfaculty/646/. In Part I, I argued that local governments should be partners with federal and state governments in managing climate change. This may sound incongruous to the ears of those listening to the debates over cap-and-trade legislation. In that context, state and local programs that cap, auction, tax, regulate, track, or otherwise attempt to manage greenhouse gas emissions are criticized on a number of grounds. The same can be said when the debate turns …


Climate Change And Sustainable Development: The Quest For Green Communities, Part I, John R. Nolon Oct 2009

Climate Change And Sustainable Development: The Quest For Green Communities, Part I, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This is the first of two commentaries that explore the role of local governments in mitigating and adapting to climate change through sustainable development strategies. They focus on the significant authority to regulate land use and building construction that is delegated to local governments by their states, and how that authority can be coordinated with the roles and responsibilities of state and federal governments to manage climate change and achieve sustainable development.


Modernization Of New York's Land Use Laws Continues To Meet Growing Challenges Of Sustainability, Patricia E. Salkin, Jessica A. Bacher Apr 2009

Modernization Of New York's Land Use Laws Continues To Meet Growing Challenges Of Sustainability, Patricia E. Salkin, Jessica A. Bacher

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Comment On Making Sustainable Land-Use Planning Work, Peter Pollock Jan 2009

A Comment On Making Sustainable Land-Use Planning Work, Peter Pollock

University of Colorado Law Review

Many models exist for creating better communities: for example, smart growth, new urbanism, and sustainable development. City planners have at their disposal a number of model ordinances and policies that could help communities meet the challenges of climate change and looming changes in transport and energy supply. The problem is not the lack of tools, but other policy issues that stymie their effective application. The localized nature of community planning, the inability to overcome local opposition to redevelopment within existing city boundaries, the lack of rigor in assigning costs to new development, the local competition for taxes, and the legacy …


Can You Hear Me Up There? Giving Voice To Local Communities Imperative For Achieving Sustainability, Patricia E. Salkin Jan 2009

Can You Hear Me Up There? Giving Voice To Local Communities Imperative For Achieving Sustainability, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

Sustainable development is an international challenge that demands attention at all levels of government. The calls to action to achieve sustainability have varied over the last few decades. For example, in the 1970s and 1980s attention was focused on the need for environmental review and growth management strategies. In the 1990s the rhetoric shifted to smart growth and livable communities, and today, the issue has been reframed as advocates view sustainability through the lens of global warming and climate change. Regardless of the nomenclature, however, the end game is the same. While the United States as a whole speaks through …


Sustainability And Land Use Planning: Greening State And Local Land Use Plans And Regulations To Address Climate Change Challenges And Preserve Resources For Future Generations, Patricia E. Salkin Jan 2009

Sustainability And Land Use Planning: Greening State And Local Land Use Plans And Regulations To Address Climate Change Challenges And Preserve Resources For Future Generations, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

Although a coordinated national policy on climate change should be developed, initiatives at the local government level through the land use planning and regulatory control processes have tremendous potential to dramatically contribute to the reduction of green house gas emissions, leading to a reduction in the carbon footprint and ultimately to a more sustainable environment. Part I of this article discusses opportunities for using the comprehensive land use planning process to address sustainability and provides examples of how this is being accomplished across the country. Part II mentions the growing number of state and local climate action plans (and cross-references …


Linking Land Use With Climate Change And Sustainability Topped State Legislative Land Use Reform Agenda In 2008, Patricia E. Salkin Jan 2009

Linking Land Use With Climate Change And Sustainability Topped State Legislative Land Use Reform Agenda In 2008, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

Linking land use with climate change and sustainability topped state legislative land use reform agenda in 2008. The only discernible state land use reform trends in 2008 have focused primarily on themes surrounding sustainability. Many states pursued statutory reforms to address the strong linkages between land use and climate change, green development and affordable housing. Only one state, Michigan, focused on recodification of its planning and zoning enabling acts.


Should Owners And Developers Of Low-Performance Buildings Pay Impact Or Mitigation Fees To Finance Green Building Incentive Programs And Other Sustainable Development Initiatives?, Carl J. Circo Dec 2008

Should Owners And Developers Of Low-Performance Buildings Pay Impact Or Mitigation Fees To Finance Green Building Incentive Programs And Other Sustainable Development Initiatives?, Carl J. Circo

Carl J. Circo

As more states and local governments decide to offer green building incentives and other programs to offset the impact of land uses that do not meet sustainable development standards, they must decide how to fund or offset the costs of their programs. This Article argues that developer fees should be used more ambitiously to help finance the most progressive sustainability objectives, and it examines the legal limits that apply to developer funding devices for sustainability, such as sustainability impact and mitigation fees. The U.S. Supreme Court’s land use exactions opinions do not provide meaningful guidance concerning the constitutionality of monetary …


Does Sustainability Require A New Theory Of Property Rights?, Carl J. Circo Dec 2008

Does Sustainability Require A New Theory Of Property Rights?, Carl J. Circo

Carl J. Circo

By demanding stewardship of natural capital over exploitation, sustainability envisions a property regime less committed to individual property rights than are the traditional and economic theories of property. While the traditional property theories of Blackstone, Locke, and U.S. constitutional doctrine tolerate restrictions on private property rights for the sake of public welfare, they resist the strongest versions of sustainability, which promote generational and social justice. Similarly, an economic analysis of property recognizes the values of resource conservation and welfare for future generations, but only to the limited extent the economist can calculate future value. As a result, economic analysis may …