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Articles 1 - 30 of 97
Full-Text Articles in Law
Green Amendments Land Use And Transportation: What Could Go Wrong?, Michael Lewyn
Green Amendments Land Use And Transportation: What Could Go Wrong?, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Numerous states have amended their constitutions to include a green amendment (that is, an amendment providing that the state's citizens have a right to a healthy environment). Unfortunately, the vagueness of these amendments leaves an enormous amount of interpretative power to courts. This article examines how some courts have interpreted green amendments and how these interpretations risk the misuse of green amendments. Additionally, this article examines how such misuse may be avoided.
Using Youtube To Explain Housing, Michael Lewyn
Using Youtube To Explain Housing, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
In 2021, the author ran for Borough President of Manhattan, New York. The author tried to his scholarship into his campaign by producing over twenty Youtube videos, most of which addressed land use and housing policy. The article describes the videos, and evaluates their usefulness.
New York’S Professor John R. Nolon: A National Leader In Land Use Law With A Large Impact Across The Hudson Valley And The State Of New York, Patricia E. Salkin, Samuel Stewart
New York’S Professor John R. Nolon: A National Leader In Land Use Law With A Large Impact Across The Hudson Valley And The State Of New York, Patricia E. Salkin, Samuel Stewart
Scholarly Works
As Professor John R. Nolon steps down from active law teaching, this article reflects not only on his contributions as a national thought leader in the field, but also on how he has a hand in changing the land use and conservation patterns in New York while promoting affordable housing and combating discrimination.
The Case Against The Case For Zoning, Michael Lewyn
The Case Against The Case For Zoning, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Critiques an article defending zoning. In particular, the article notes that a traditional justification for zoning is that it conserves community character. This argument fails because when people priced out of exclusive neighborhoods move to other areas, they change the character of the receiving area. Similarly, the argument that zoning prevents infrastructure from being overloaded overlooks the fact that if people priced out of one area move to a cheaper area, the latter area's infrastructure is equally burdened. A third argument is that zoning allows local governments to push the costs of growth to developers- but the sluggish growth of …
Land Costs And New Housing, Michael Lewyn
Land Costs And New Housing, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Restrictive zoning limits housing supply, which (according to the law of supply and demand) increases housing costs. But some commentators argue that more permissive zoning would actually increase housing costs by increasing land costs. This article points out that if the latter claim was true, land costs would have risen in places that allowed lots of new housing and fallen in more restrictive regions such as San Francisco. In fact, land costs increased in both types of metro areas. More importantly, overall housing costs increased more rapidly in more restrictive metros.
Does Democracy Justify Zoning?, Michael Lewyn
Does Democracy Justify Zoning?, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
One common argument for restrictive zoning is that zoning is more democratic than allowing landowners to build what they please. This article critiques that claim, suggesting that free markets are equally democratic because they allow for self-rule. Moreover, zoning is less democratic than other forms of government decisionmaking, because zoning hearings are often sparsely attended, and commenters at public meetings are unrepresentative of the public as a whole.
The Case Against The Case For Zoning, Michael Lewyn
The Case Against The Case For Zoning, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Power points used in a presentation on a work in progress, responding to Christopher Serkin's "Case For Zoning" article at 96 Notre Dame L. Rev. 749.
Bringing Judaism Downtown: A Smart Growth Policy For Orthodox Jews, Michael Lewyn
Bringing Judaism Downtown: A Smart Growth Policy For Orthodox Jews, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Until the late 20th century, the most rigorously traditional Jews, haredi Jews (often referred to as “ultra-Orthodox”) tended to congregate in New York City. But as New York became more expensive and haredi population grew due to high birth rates, some haredi Jews (known collectively as “haredim”) moved to small towns and outer suburbs in search of cheaper land, sometimes creating towns dominated by haredim such as Kiryas Joel, New York and Lakewood, New Jersey. As haredi populations have continued to grow, their households now seek undeveloped land outside these enclaves. But as haredim move deeper into the countryside, zoning …
The Limits Of Equity, Michael Lewyn
The Limits Of Equity, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
"Equity" is a common buzzword in urban planning circles. However, nearly any land use decision can be justified as more equitable than the alternatives.
Will Zoning Fix Itself?, Michael Lewyn
Will Zoning Fix Itself?, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Typically, zoning artificially limits housing supply, thus increasing housing costs. One possible defense of this system is that zoning can fix itself- that is, that when rents and housing costs become unusually high, politicians will deregulate and thus reduce housing costs. This article suggests that such a happy result is unlikely; instead, where housing costs spiral out of control, voters and politicians are likely to make regulation even more strict out of a fear of gentrification.
Downtown Condos For The Rich: Not All Bad, Michael Lewyn
Downtown Condos For The Rich: Not All Bad, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Some new condominiums in urban neighborhoods are too expensive for anyone but the very wealthy. Buyers of these high-cost units include not only wealthy city residents, but also nonresidents who wish to use housing as an investment rather than a residence. Some commentators use this apparent fact as an argument against new market-rate housing generally; they claim that new housing will be purchased by out-of-town investors rather than used by local residents and that those investors will leave housing units empty, rather than renting them out. A related argument is that, even if market-rate condos are purchased by local residents, …
Death Need Not Part Owners And Their Pets: Regulating Pet Cemeteries Through Zoning Regulation, Patricia E. Salkin, Sydney Gross
Death Need Not Part Owners And Their Pets: Regulating Pet Cemeteries Through Zoning Regulation, Patricia E. Salkin, Sydney Gross
Scholarly Works
Pet ownership in the United States has grown substantially over the years. In the past, when a family pet died, it was typically buried in the back yard or cremated by the local veterinarian who might return the ashes to the owner if requested. Today the relationship between people and their pets is different. In many cases pets are treated like members of the family, and a growing number of people wish to be buried alongside their pet either in a burial ground for human remains or for animal remains. Others wish to inter their pets in a specially designated …
Socialists And Housing, Michael Lewyn
Socialists And Housing, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
My review of Capital City by Samuel Stein
The Law Of The Eruv, Michael Lewyn
The Law Of The Eruv, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Describes case law governing municipal regulation of the eruv (an artificial enclosure designed to allow observant Jews to carry on the Jewish Sabbath). The article focuses on First Amendment case law, and concludes that a municipality may prohibit eruvin only pursuant to a regulation that is enforced against comparable secular signs.
Arlington Heights Won In The Supreme Court But The Fair Housing Act’S Goal Of Promoting Racial Integration Saved The Low-Income Housing, Henry Rose
Touro Law Review
No abstract provided.
Relationships And Ethics In The Land Use Game, Patricia E. Salkin, Thomas Brown, Aisha Scholes
Relationships And Ethics In The Land Use Game, Patricia E. Salkin, Thomas Brown, Aisha Scholes
Scholarly Works
Ethical considerations in the land use decision making process can be organized into a number of categories, including, first and foremost, the broad subject of conflicts of interest.1 Players in the land use game can find themselves in real or perceived conflicts situations based on personal financial interests resulting from investments, including businesses and real estate holdings (such as the location of their property vis-à-vis the location of the subject property before the Board), employment for themselves or members of their immediate family, and memberships in nonprofit organizations that may be either passive or active (e.g., simply dues paying member …
Explaining Market Urbanism, Michael Lewyn
Explaining Market Urbanism, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Compares Market Urbanism to New Urbanism and Landscape Urbanism
Does The Threat Of Gentrification Justify Restrictive Zoning?, Michael Lewyn
Does The Threat Of Gentrification Justify Restrictive Zoning?, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Historically, progressives have opposed restrictive zoning, arguing that by restricting the housing supply to high-end housing, zoning reduces the supply of housing available to lower-income Americans. But recently, some progressives have suggested that new market-rate housing facilitates gentrification and displacement of lower-income renters. This article critically examines that theory.
Taming The Super-Wicked Problem Of Waterfront Hazard Mitigation Planning: The Role Of Municipal Communication Strategies, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Taming The Super-Wicked Problem Of Waterfront Hazard Mitigation Planning: The Role Of Municipal Communication Strategies, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Scholarly Works
In the Adaptation Report of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identifies floods in urban riverine and coastal areas as among the key climate-related risks for North America. Not surprisingly for residents of coastal and riverine communities devastated by recent extreme weather events, the Adaptation Report acknowledges that risks related to sea-level rise, increased frequency and duration of extreme precipitation events, and increasingly intense coastal storms are not only future risks, but are current risks that are already manifesting in property and infrastructure damage, ecosystem and social system disruption, public health impacts, and water …
The Roots Of Expensive Zoning, Michael Lewyn
The Roots Of Expensive Zoning, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Review of Zoning Rules, by William Fischel.
A Balanced Diet Of First Amendment Cases, Joel Gora
A Balanced Diet Of First Amendment Cases, Joel Gora
Touro Law Review
No abstract provided.
Land Use Law Update: The 2015 Mid-Year Roundup, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Land Use Law Update: The 2015 Mid-Year Roundup, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Scholarly Works
This update summarizes New York cases related to land use and zoning that were decided in the first half of 2015.
Billy Joel: The Chronicler Of The Suburbanization In New York, Patricia E. Salkin, Irene Crisci
Billy Joel: The Chronicler Of The Suburbanization In New York, Patricia E. Salkin, Irene Crisci
Touro Law Review
Artists often chronicle historical developments through their chosen medium. In the case of Billy Joel, some of his lyrics can be traced to the early sustainability movements as he wrote about the migration of people from the cities and the attendant problems with rapid suburbanization. Described by Tony Bennett as “a poet, a performer, a philosopher and today’s American songbook,” his lyrics address, among other topics, land use, community development, and environmental issues. Following World War II, there was a major shift in population settlement patterns in the United States. As war heroes returned home, not only did the country …
American Dreams, American Realities, Michael Lewyn
American Dreams, American Realities, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
Review of Zoned In The USA, by Sonia Hirt.
A Three-Legged Stool On Two Legs: Recent Federal Law Related To Local Climate Resilience Planning And Zoning, Sarah Adams-Schoen, Edward Thomas
A Three-Legged Stool On Two Legs: Recent Federal Law Related To Local Climate Resilience Planning And Zoning, Sarah Adams-Schoen, Edward Thomas
Scholarly Works
Notwithstanding a critical gap between climate change related risks and preparedness in the United States, congress has yet to pass any federal law expressly addressing climate change hazard mitigation (or any other aspect of climate change) and appears unlikely to do so anytime soon. Despite this, the first half of 2015 has seen a number of actions in the other two branches of the federal government with significant implications for local hazard mitigation planning, zoning, and development. Of particular note, and as discussed in more detail below, the President issued an Executive Order and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) …
Land Use Law Update: Reed V. Town Of Gilbert Redux, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Land Use Law Update: Reed V. Town Of Gilbert Redux, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Scholarly Works
The Winter 2015 Land Use Law Update asked whether the Supreme Court’s decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert would require municipalities throughout the country to rewrite their sign codes. The short answer is “yes.”
At a minimum, following the Supreme Court’s decision that the Town of Gilbert’s temporary directional sign regulations violated petitioners Good News Community Church’s and Pastor Clyde Reed’s First Amendment rights, municipalities will want to act quickly to amend their sign codes if they regulate different categories of signs differently. A code that places fewer restrictions on political or ideological signs than on directional signs likely …
Further Developments In Land Use Ethics, Patricia E. Salkin, Darren Stakey
Further Developments In Land Use Ethics, Patricia E. Salkin, Darren Stakey
Scholarly Works
Ethical considerations continue to play a fundamental role in shaping the course of land use and developmental regulatory proceedings throughout the country. From an innocuous donation by one public official to his alma mater, to the outright bribery of a former mayor, the past year has been rife with a range of conduct implicating professional responsibility and land use.
Against The Neighborhood Veto, Michael Lewyn
Against The Neighborhood Veto, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
American zoning often gives neighborhoods elective veto power over nearby real estate development. This “neighborhood veto” sometimes artificially reduces housing supply and urban density, thus making housing more expensive and making American cities more dependent on automobiles. This article criticizes the common arguments that neighborhood activists use to restrict development.
Is An Apartment A Nuisance?, Michael Lewyn
Is An Apartment A Nuisance?, Michael Lewyn
Scholarly Works
In an ongoing Texas lawsuit, some homeowners allege that a nearby apartment building will constitute a nuisance. This article asserts that courts should generally reject nuisance claims against multifamily housing, based on the public interest in favor of increased housing supply and infill development.
Appellate Division, First Department, For The People Theatres Of New York, Inc. V. City Of New York, Daphne Vlcek
Appellate Division, First Department, For The People Theatres Of New York, Inc. V. City Of New York, Daphne Vlcek
Touro Law Review
No abstract provided.