Land Use Law Commons^™

Insuring Takings Claims, Christopher Serkin

Northwestern University Law Review

Local governments typically insure themselves against all kinds of losses, from property damage to legal liability. For small- and medium-sized governments, this usually means purchasing insurance from private insurers or participating in municipal risk pools. Insurance for regulatory takings claims, however, is generally unavailable. This previously unnoticed gap in municipal insurance coverage could lead risk averse local governments to underregulate and underenforce existing regulations where property owners threaten to bring takings claims. This seemingly technical observation turns out to have profound implications for theoretical accounts of the Takings Clause that focus on government regulatory incentives. This Article explores the impact …

Zoning’S Centennial: A Complete Account Of The Evolution Of Zoning Into A Robust System Of Land Use Law—1916-2016 (Part Iii), John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In land use, there are two things that Americans dislike: one is sprawl, the other is density. This catch-22 can be resolved by mitigating those aspects of urban living associated with density: congestion, bulky buildings, sameness, design incongruities, unsafe streets, inefficiency, and the sense that neighborhoods are not livable and pleasant. These characteristics of density cut against sustainability. They define places that people want to leave as soon as they can. To reduce vehicle miles travelled and carbon emissions, as well as to prevent sprawl, we must create places of enduring value, located next to transit in walkable and sustainable …

Zoning’S Centennial: A Complete Account Of The Evolution Of Zoning Into A Robust System Of Land Use Law—1916-2016 (Part Ii), John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The idea that local land use law can intelligently shape settlement patterns was not a familiar concept in the late 1960s when the Town of Ramapo, New York adopted an ordinance that delayed development permits until the Town could provide needed infrastructure. Ramapo was experiencing unprecedented growth as one of the closest northern suburbs of New York City. Developers, who in some cases had to wait years for services to their land, sued; they argued that these phased development controls were intended to prohibit subdivisions and restrict population growth, which is not authorized under the state’s zoning enabling legislation.

New …

The Influence Of Exile, Sara K. Rankin

Maryland Law Review

Belonging is a fundamental human need, but human instincts are Janus-faced and equally strong is the drive to exclude. This exclusive impulse, which this Article calls “the influence of exile,” reaches beyond interpersonal dynamics when empowered groups use laws and policies to restrict marginalized groups’ access to public space. Jim Crow, Anti-Okie, and Sundown Town laws are among many notorious examples. But the influence of exile perseveres today: it has found a new incarnation in the stigmatization and spatial regulation of visible poverty, as laws that criminalize and eject visibly poor people from public space proliferate across the nation. These …

Singled Out, Michael Pappas

Maryland Law Review

David has been “singled out.” He is the only one in his neighborhood legally prohibited from building a house. In a town full of residences, his lot alone must remain vacant. This is unequal, but is it unconstitutional?

Courts have continually grappled with this sort of question, vigilantly defending against unfair and unjust singling out. So important is this concern that the Supreme Court has emphasized it as the heart of the Fifth Amendment takings jurisprudence, and an entire Equal Protection doctrine has emerged around it.

However, courts and scholars have yet to critically examine the concept of singling-out, and …

Financiación Por Promotores De Vivendas Asequibles Para La Clase Trabajadora Mediante Impuestos Y Recuperación De Plusvalías: Una Comparación De Los Enfoques Estadounidense Y Español, Julian Conrad Juergensmeyer

Julian C. Juergensmeyer

Este artículo explora las diferencias, similitudes, ventajas y desventajas comparativas entre los deberes de financiación de los promotores urbanos de viviendas asequibles y para la clase trabajadora en los Estados Unidos y España. Se hace hincapié en las impact fees como fuente de ingresos en los Estados Unidos y los requisitos de recuperación de plusvalías en España y en Cataluña en particular. El autor concluye que las impact fees norteamericanas proporcionan una base más amplia para los deberes de los promotores de financiación, pero que los programas españoles de recuperación de plusvalías ofrecen una mayor flexibilidad a las autoridades encargadas …

Zoning’S Centennial: A Complete Account Of The Evolution Of Zoning Into A Robust System Of Land Use Law—1916-2016 (Part I), John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

2016 is the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the first citywide comprehensive zoning law. Its original purpose was to create districts that separated incompatible land uses and building types in order to protect property values and promote the health, safety, and welfare of the community. 100 years later, zoning is used to achieve an impressive number of public objectives such as permitting transit oriented development, creating green infrastructure, preserving habitat, species, and wetlands, promoting renewable energy facilities, reducing vehicle miles traveled, and preserving the sequestering landscape.

Testimony On Unmanned Aircraft Systems Rules And Regulations, Stephen E. Henderson

Stephen E Henderson

Reconciling Development And Natural Beauty: The Promise And Dilemma Of Conservation Easements, Zachary A. Bray

Zachary Bray

Local and regional private land trusts are among the most important and most numerous conservation actors in contemporary America, and conservation easements are perhaps the key land conservation tools used by these trusts. In recent decades, privately held conservation easements and local and regional private land trusts have grown at a rapid and increasing rate, and the total acreage protected by privately held conservation easements is now larger than some states. The early growth of privately held conservation easements met widespread approval, but more recently, contemporary conservation easement practice has attracted many critics, based in part on well-publicized national scandals …

Cartways—An Ancient Relic Disturbing Today's Rural Landscape?, Sarah R. Jewell

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

This Land Is Not For Sale, Derrick Braaten

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Big Fish, Small Sea: Big Companies In Small Towns, Christyne J. Vachon

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Perspectives - Emmy Award-Winning Producer And Director Thomas Kaufman, James Hagy, Colin Pearce

Rooftops Project

What makes an effective message when asking for donations to a capital project using video and streaming media? Professor James Hagy and Rooftops Team member Colin Pearce asked Emmy Award-winning producer and director Tom Kaufman after screening his remarkable two-minute video for the Playtime Project, the goal of which was to fund construction of a children’s playground for a large homeless shelter in a converted, former general hospital in the District of Columbia.

Perspectives - Marty Festenstein Of Nelson, James Hagy, Jennessy Angie Rivera

Rooftops Project

Interior Design Professional Marty Festenstein shares insights on the design process for tenant spaces with Professor James Hagy and Rooftops Project team member Jennsessey Rivera.

Perspectives - Susanna Fodor Of Scarola Malone Zubatov, James Hagy, Alicia Langone

Rooftops Project

In a recent visit with the Rooftops Project's Alicia Langone and Professor James Hagy, construction lawyer Susanna Fodor offers views on the tenant improvement process when a not-for-profit organization selects space to lease and on routine repair and renovation projects for properties a not-for-profit may own.

Proactive Natural Disaster Recovery And Resilience In The Northeast: Should Governments Exercise Buyout Programs And, If Necessary, Eminent Domain, To Prevent Disaster?, Stellina Napolitano

Pace Environmental Law Review

In light of the devastation left behind by the three most recent natural disasters in the northeast region—Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and Superstorm Sandy—local and state governments are now implementing “buyout programs” in order to protect the future of beachfront and flood-prone communities. These programs may not be a perfect solution, so, while positions differ on whether to pursue taking private properties by use of eminent domain, it may be a favorable option in order to attain the ultimate goal of safety and resilience against future disaster. Section II of this paper will analyze the background and impacts that …

Micro-Housing In Seattle: A Case For Community Participation In Novel Land Use Decisions, Patrick Carter

Seattle University Law Review

Rather than relying solely on the formal interpretations of government regulators invited by the structure of local zoning ordinances, the City of Seattle should adopt a process that invites community-based mediation and problem-solving when a significant shift in housing density is contemplated in a developer’s proposal. Greater resident participation in development projects allows the City of Seattle to better support those residents in their reliance interests arising from zoning ordinances while simultaneously furthering the policies that underpin urban zoning. This is especially true when such development projects raise the possibility of substantial impacts on the character of a community or …

In Her Words: Recognizing And Preventing Abusive Litigation Against Domestic Violence Survivors, David Ward

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Let’S Talk About Sex: A Call For Guardianship Reform In Washington State, Sage Graves

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Don’T Risk It; Wait Until She’S Sober, Patrick John White

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Prostitution Policy: Legalization, Decriminalization And The Nordic Model, Ane Mathieson, Easton Branam, Anya Noble

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

His Feminist Facade: The Neoliberal Co-Option Of The Feminist Movement, Anjilee Dodge, Myani Gilbert

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Living Under The Boot: Militarization And Peaceful Protest, Charlotte Guerra

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Let’S Invest In People, Not Prisons: How Washington State Should Address Its Ex-Offender Unemployment Rate, Sara Taboada

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Persistence And Resistance: Women’S Leadership And Ending Gender-Based Violence In Guatemala, Serena Cosgrove, Kristi Lee

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Toxic Confinement: Can The Eighth Amendment Protect Prisoners From Human-Made Environmental Health Hazards?, Brenna Helppie-Schmieder

Northwestern University Law Review

What would you do if you realized a nearby factory or energy operation was making everyone in your town sick? You might try to rally your neighbors in protest, take legal action, or cut your losses and move away. But what if your options were more limited? What if you were forced to stay? This is the situation for prisoners across the country who live in prisons located near dangerous energy industry operations.

The increased reliance on incarceration in recent times has resulted in prisons being built on undesirable land, often the same land occupied by the energy industry. This …

Mauna Kea Anaina Hou V. Board Of Land And Natural Resources, Wesley J. Furlong

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Native Hawaiians and the scientific community have been pitted against each other in a decades-long culture war over the construction of observatories and telescopes on sacred landscapes. In Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, the Hawai’i Supreme Court handed a victory to Native Hawaiian culture and rights by halting the construction of a new telescope on Mauna Kea. The decision must be read cautiously, however, as it is firmly rooted in the strict application of procedural due process.

The New Nuisance: An Antidote To Wetland Loss, Sprawl, And Global Warming, Christine A. Klein

Christine A. Klein

Marking the fifteenth anniversary of Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council -- the modern U.S. Supreme Court's seminal regulatory takings decision -- this Article surveys Lucas's impact upon regulations that restrict wetland filling, sprawling development, and the emission of greenhouse gases. The Lucas Court set forth a new categorical rule of governmental liability for regulations that prohibit all economically beneficial use of land, but also established a new defense that draws upon the states' common law of nuisance and property. Unexpectedly, that defense has taken on a life of its own -- forming what this Article calls the new …

Taking The Oceanfront Lot, Josh Eagle

Indiana Law Journal

Oceanfront landowners and states share a property boundary that runs between the wet and dry parts of the shore. This legal coastline is different from an ordinary land boundary. First, on sandy beaches, the line is constantly in flux, and it cannot be marked except momentarily. Without the help of a surveyor and a court, neither the landowner nor a citizen walking down the beach has the ability to know exactly where the line lies. This uncertainty means that, as a practical matter, ownership of some part of the beach is effectively shared. Second, the common law establishes that the …

Profiles - Right Where We Started: Celebrating New York City Organizations At The Same Locations Over A Century Or More, James Hagy, Alicia Langone, Jordan Moss, Sahar Nikanjam, Bridget Pastorelle, Colin Pearce, Jennessy Angie Rivera, Ronna Zarrouk

Rooftops Project

Featuring these New York City not-for-profit institutions: The Art Students League of New York; The Bowne House Historical Society; The Bronx Zoo; Carnegie Hall; Flushing Friends (Old Quaker) Meeting House; Middle Collegiate Church; Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanic Garden and Sailors’ Snug Harbor in the City of New York

This article was collaboration among Professor James Hagy, Director of The Rooftops Project at New York Law School, and Alicia Langone, Jordan Moss, Sahar Nikanjam, Bridget Pastorelle, Colin Pearce, Jennessy Angie Rivera, and Ronna Zarrouk, student members of The Rooftops Project.