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Articles 1 - 30 of 83
Full-Text Articles in Law
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
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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.
Using Youtube To Explain Housing, Michael Lewyn
Using Youtube To Explain Housing, Michael Lewyn
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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.
Does Democracy Justify Zoning?, Michael Lewyn
Does Democracy Justify Zoning?, Michael Lewyn
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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.
Land Costs And New Housing, Michael Lewyn
Land Costs And New Housing, Michael Lewyn
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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.
The Limits Of Equity, Michael Lewyn
The Limits Of Equity, Michael Lewyn
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"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
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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.
Bringing Judaism Downtown: A Smart Growth Policy For Orthodox Jews, Michael Lewyn
Bringing Judaism Downtown: A Smart Growth Policy For Orthodox Jews, Michael Lewyn
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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 …
Downtown Condos For The Rich: Not All Bad, Michael Lewyn
Downtown Condos For The Rich: Not All Bad, Michael Lewyn
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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
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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 …
The Law Of The Eruv, Michael Lewyn
The Law Of The Eruv, Michael Lewyn
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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.
Socialists And Housing, Michael Lewyn
Socialists And Housing, Michael Lewyn
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My review of Capital City by Samuel Stein
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
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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
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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
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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.
The Roots Of Expensive Zoning, Michael Lewyn
The Roots Of Expensive Zoning, Michael Lewyn
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Review of Zoning Rules, by William Fischel.
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
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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 …
Against The Neighborhood Veto, Michael Lewyn
Against The Neighborhood Veto, Michael Lewyn
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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.
American Dreams, American Realities, Michael Lewyn
American Dreams, American Realities, Michael Lewyn
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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
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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) …
Is An Apartment A Nuisance?, Michael Lewyn
Is An Apartment A Nuisance?, Michael Lewyn
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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.
Land Use Law Update: The 2015 Mid-Year Roundup, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Land Use Law Update: The 2015 Mid-Year Roundup, Sarah Adams-Schoen
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This update summarizes New York cases related to land use and zoning that were decided in the first half of 2015.
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
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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
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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.
How Often Do Cities Mandate Smart Growth Or Green Building?, Michael Lewyn
How Often Do Cities Mandate Smart Growth Or Green Building?, Michael Lewyn
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Much has been written about the role of government regulation in facilitating automobile-oriented sprawl. Zoning codes reduce walkability by artificially segregating housing from commerce, forcing businesses and multifamily landlords to surround their buildings with parking, and artificially reducing density. The “smart growth” movement seeks to reverse these policies, both through regulation and through more libertarian, deregulatory policies. The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent cities have in fact chosen the former path, and to discuss the possible side effects of prescriptive smart growth and green building regulations. In particular, this paper focuses on attempts to make …
Land Use Law Update: New York's New Climate Change Resiliency Law, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Land Use Law Update: New York's New Climate Change Resiliency Law, Sarah Adams-Schoen
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New York State’s lawmakers passed 2,603 bills over the course of the 2013-14 session, 658 of which passed both houses. Although counties and local governments are likely focusing their attention on budget-related items such as the property tax freeze/rebate program, local governments — and zoning and planning officials and practitioners in particular — should also take note of the newly enacted Community Risk and Resiliency Act (CRRA).
Recent Developments In Land Use Ethics, Patricia E. Salkin
Recent Developments In Land Use Ethics, Patricia E. Salkin
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Current events across the country reveal no shortage of allegations of unethical conduct in the land use review process. Sadly, there are countless other media accounts of alleged and proven conflicts of interest and other ethical misconduct. In this annual review of reported decisions involving ethics in land use, recent decisions are discussed in the hopes that municipal attorneys will use this information as the basis of ongoing training for members of planning boards, zoning boards, and local legislative bodies who must be routinely reminded of not only their legal but ethical responsibilities in upholding the public trust.
Land Use Law Update: The Court Of Appeals Issues A Victory For Home Rule In Wallach V. Town Of Dryden And Cooperstown Holstein Corp. V. Town Of Middlefield, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Land Use Law Update: The Court Of Appeals Issues A Victory For Home Rule In Wallach V. Town Of Dryden And Cooperstown Holstein Corp. V. Town Of Middlefield, Sarah Adams-Schoen
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In the midst of the often heated controversy swirling around the issue of hydraulic fracturing (commonly referred to as “hydrofracking” and “fracking”), New York’s Court of Appeals recently issued a straightforward ruling, which focused on long-established precedent concerning the right of municipalities to regulate mining land uses, rather than focusing on the contentious economic or environmental issues surrounding the fracking debate. This article discusses that ruling.
What Every Land Use Lawyer Should Know About The Emerging Use Of Health Impact Assessment And Land Use Decision Making, Patricia E. Salkin, Pamela Ko
What Every Land Use Lawyer Should Know About The Emerging Use Of Health Impact Assessment And Land Use Decision Making, Patricia E. Salkin, Pamela Ko
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The field of Health Impact Assessment is relatively new to the United States, but already a number of state and local governments are incorporating these assessments into land use planning and decision making. In five years, the use of HIA in the U.S. has increased dramatically with more than 100 HIAs completed or in progress in the U.S. from 2007 to 2010. This article provides a brief overview of HIA in the United States, describes how it is being used in other states with respect to land use decision making, and examines how HIA is starting to be incorporated into …
The Key To Unlocking The Power Of Small Scale Renewable Energy: Local Land Use Regulation, Patricia E. Salkin
The Key To Unlocking The Power Of Small Scale Renewable Energy: Local Land Use Regulation, Patricia E. Salkin
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Myriad federal and state programs have been promoted to incentivize the research and development of renewable energy as a means of achieving sustainability and producing more affordable alternative energy systems, and these programs could potentially have a profound impact on the way that electricity is produced and consumed in the United States. Small-scale renewable energy generation from sources such as solar and wind, that can be used at the consumer level as a source of power for homes and small businesses, is an important part of this paradigm shift. However, regardless of the fiscal incentives offered to clean-tech companies to …
Government "Green" Requirements And "Leedigation", Patricia E. Salkin, Graham Grady, Nicole Mueller, Susan Herendeen
Government "Green" Requirements And "Leedigation", Patricia E. Salkin, Graham Grady, Nicole Mueller, Susan Herendeen
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No abstract provided.