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Enjoys Long Walks On The Beach: Washington's Public Trust Doctrine And The Right Of Pedestrian Passage Over Private Tidelands, Ewa M. Davison Nov 2006

Enjoys Long Walks On The Beach: Washington's Public Trust Doctrine And The Right Of Pedestrian Passage Over Private Tidelands, Ewa M. Davison

Washington Law Review

Under Washington's public trust doctrine, the state retains a jus publicum interest in tidelands, regardless of ownership. This interest obligates the state to protect the public rights encompassed within the jus publicum: navigation, fishing, boating, swimming, water skiing, and corollary recreational activities. The state satisfies this duty so long as its actions do not circumscribe public access to those resources, including tidelands, traditionally protected by the public trust doctrine. The title to any tidelands property sold into private ownership is similarly burdened; a private tidelands owner may not utilize property in a way that would compromise the state's jus …


Breaking Down Barriers To U.S. Investment In Vietnam's Real Estate Market, Stephanie L. Strike Sep 2006

Breaking Down Barriers To U.S. Investment In Vietnam's Real Estate Market, Stephanie L. Strike

Washington International Law Journal

Despite great progress in Vietnam’s general investment environment, barriers exist which impede U.S. investment in Vietnam’s real estate market. While Vietnam remains a socialist country, drastic liberalization of its market structure and investment laws have made Vietnam a more attractive environment for most U.S. investors. However, barriers remain for U.S. investors seeking to invest in Vietnam’s real estate, specifically property developers wishing to build tourism complexes. These barriers include weak transportation infrastructure, financial and humanitarian issues posed by site clearance, and lack of accountability in the real estate licensing system. To facilitate U.S. investment in Vietnam’s real estate, Vietnam should …


Enriching The Land Or The Political Elite? Lessons From China On Democratization Of The Urban Renewal Process, Pamela N. Phan Jun 2005

Enriching The Land Or The Political Elite? Lessons From China On Democratization Of The Urban Renewal Process, Pamela N. Phan

Washington International Law Journal

As China in the twenty-first century rushes ahead in its quest to become more developed and cosmopolitan, the poor are increasingly cast as outsiders to the nation's new social contract and urban development politics. Nowhere is the contrast between China's urban rich and rural poor as stark as on the land itself. In cities throughout China, land continues to be taken away from the collective and placed into the hands of an increasingly rich and powerful elite. As a new society built upon urban poverty, exclusion, and inequality emerges, and the gap between rich and poor widens, the new political …


Rural Women's Land Rights In Java, Indonesia: Strengthened By Family Law, But Weakened By Land Registration, Jennifer Brown May 2003

Rural Women's Land Rights In Java, Indonesia: Strengthened By Family Law, But Weakened By Land Registration, Jennifer Brown

Washington International Law Journal

In Java, Indonesia, only about one-third of land title certificates reflect ownership by women. This lack of registered land ownership can potentially harm women by depriving them of influence within the household and leaving them vulnerable in cases of divorce or a spouse's death. This Article argues that effective land registration mechanisms and legal and social recognition of women's property rights all play a critical role in protecting women's ownership interests. Interviews with landowners and government officials in Java reveal that Indonesia's land registration processes do not effectively advance ownership rights granted under the nation's family law. Despite the government's …


Evolution Of Land Reform In Russia: The 2001 Land Code And Its Impact On The Commercial Real Estate Market And Direct Foreign Investment, Dana Tumenova Jun 2002

Evolution Of Land Reform In Russia: The 2001 Land Code And Its Impact On The Commercial Real Estate Market And Direct Foreign Investment, Dana Tumenova

Washington International Law Journal

Russia unambiguously established private land ownership when it adopted the 2001 Land Code, which, although limited to urban and commercial land, clarifies the concept of land ownership in general and allows foreign ownership of those lands. The Land Code permits security interests in commercial and industrial land, which should further stimulate Russia's commercial real estate market, an important component of a functioning market economy. Perhaps the greatest strength of the new Land Code is its provision for foreign ownership, which allows foreign investors to conduct business according to the Western standards without being forced to engage in bribery or other …


The Error Of Kim V. Lee And Equitable Subrogation: Why Birfucating Lien Priorities Is A Better Remedy, Brad A. Goergen Jan 2002

The Error Of Kim V. Lee And Equitable Subrogation: Why Birfucating Lien Priorities Is A Better Remedy, Brad A. Goergen

Washington Law Review

Normally, the priority of an interest in real property is determined according to the date when the interest was recorded in the Recorder's Office of the county in which the property is located. The first interest recorded has first priority. When an interest is satisfied, junior interests are elevated to the next priority level. If a landowner is forced to sell the property to satisfy a debt through foreclosure, the priority of interests determines the order for distributing sale proceeds. Equitable subrogation is a remedy whereby a court gives a subsequent interest holder priority over a prior recorded interest because …


Land Policy And Adat Law In Indonesia's Forests, Kallie Szczepanski Jan 2002

Land Policy And Adat Law In Indonesia's Forests, Kallie Szczepanski

Washington International Law Journal

The Indonesian government's land laws and policies lead to displacement of and hardship for the indigenous peoples of the archipelago. The Basic Agrarian Law, Basic Forestry Law, and Spatial Planning Law all allow for expropriation of indigenous lands formerly governed under the adat legal system. In addition, the central government's policy of transmigration—the shifting of people from the populous Inner Islands of Java, Bali, and Madura to the Outer Islands—only increases the economic and cultural pressure on indigenous peoples of the Outer Islands. The hopelessness and anger that result from the marginalization of traditional adat societies fuel violent ethnic conflicts, …


The Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act: An Analysis Under The Commerce Clause, Evan M. Shapior Oct 2001

The Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act: An Analysis Under The Commerce Clause, Evan M. Shapior

Washington Law Review

Congress based the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) on accumulated evidence suggesting that the land use decisions of local governments unfairly burden religious uses. The RLUIPA is narrower in scope than two previous statutes aimed at protecting religious liberty. The United States Supreme Court held the first of these religious liberty statutes unconstitutional, and Congress failed to enact the other. This Comment examines the constitutionality of the RLUIPA under the Commerce Clause and argues that Congress exceeded its Commerce Clause authority because (1) land use regulation does not constitute "economic activity" as defined by the United States …


Unopened Public Street Easements In Washington: Whose Right To Use That Land Is It, Anyway?, Alfred E. Donohue Apr 2001

Unopened Public Street Easements In Washington: Whose Right To Use That Land Is It, Anyway?, Alfred E. Donohue

Washington Law Review

This Comment argues that landowners whose property abuts unopened public street easements have a right to reasonable, non-interfering use of such easements until the city or county opens the street for its intended purpose. Unopened public street easements are dedicated streets that a city or county has not developed or used. Often, landowners use this land to store firewood, park boats, or garden. In 1995, the City of Seattle enacted Municipal Code section 15.02.100, which prohibits all use of unopened public street easements. Several Washington court decisions purportedly support the Seattle ordinance. These decisions suggest that abutting property owners have …


The Myth Of Property Absolutism And Modern Government: The Interacation Of Police Power And Property Rights, Philip A. Talmadge Jul 2000

The Myth Of Property Absolutism And Modern Government: The Interacation Of Police Power And Property Rights, Philip A. Talmadge

Washington Law Review

A new movement in America espousing a novel doctrine, property-rights absolutism, has gained some popular and political appeal. But the property rights absolutists tend to ignore the societal foundations of property, and especially de-emphasize the responsibilities property owners have to the community in which they live. They fail to consider properly the significance of the police power and its vital role in the American and Washington State constitutional systems. This Article debunks the newly minted mythology of the property-rights absolutists and places the police power and property rights in their proper historical perspective.


Chinese Real Estate Mortgage Law, Patrick A. Randolph Jr., Lou Jianbo Sep 1999

Chinese Real Estate Mortgage Law, Patrick A. Randolph Jr., Lou Jianbo

Washington International Law Journal

This Article reviews the developing Chinese law pertaining to real estate mortgage loans with a focus on the questions that an American practitioner might have about the Chinese system. It identifies those areas of difference between the American and Chinese systems that might raise concerns for an American practitioner. Attention is given to issues of concern both to parties functioning as lenders and to parties functioning as borrowers or investors in mortgaged property. Although Chinese lawmakers have made major steps in recent years to provide clarity and predictability in the laws pertaining to mortgages, some of these laws have minor …


The Russian Title Registration System For Realty And Its Effect On Foreign Investors, Lev S. Batalov Oct 1998

The Russian Title Registration System For Realty And Its Effect On Foreign Investors, Lev S. Batalov

Washington Law Review

The recent privatization of real property is an important step in Russia's transition from a planned to market economy. This privatization creates opportunities for foreigners in the Russian realty market. However, foreigners are not likely to enter this market unless rights to immovable property are certain and secure. This Comment describes the new Russian immovable property Registration Law and argues that, despite its drawbacks, it creates a workable system that will provide certainty and security in rights to Russian immovable property. Furthermore, the Comment advises foreign investors on how to avoid potential problems the new law creates.


"The Best Laid Schemes . . . ": Land-Use Planning And Historic Preservation In Cambodia, William Chapman Jul 1998

"The Best Laid Schemes . . . ": Land-Use Planning And Historic Preservation In Cambodia, William Chapman

Washington International Law Journal

This Article examines existing land use laws and proposed historic preservation-related legislation in Cambodia and offers a critical appraisal of their applicability and hopes for success. Cambodia is a small country that faces (and has faced) numerous political and economic difficulties. It possesses a rich architectural and archaeological heritage that is threatened by proposed land-use changes and future development. Initiated primarily by outsiders, principally planners and archaeologists from Europe and the United States, Cambodia's newly formulated land-use laws attempt to take irreplaceable cultural resources into account. However, plans such as those proposed by UNESCO and consultants to the government appear …


Infrastructure Services And Financing In Chinese Cities, Kam Wing Chan Jul 1998

Infrastructure Services And Financing In Chinese Cities, Kam Wing Chan

Washington International Law Journal

As urbanization accelerates and cities expand their role in the Chinese economy, expensive urban infrastructural facilities and financing have become major policy issues. Drawing on fieldwork in five cities in 1994 as well as national statistics, this Article analyzes the provision of urban infrastructure services and financing. As marketization proceeds, an overhaul of the urban public finance system, along with a redefinition of the role of local government in China, is urgently required.


Square Pegs And Round Holes: Fitting Modern Title Into Traditional Societies In Indonesia, Timothy Lindsey Jul 1998

Square Pegs And Round Holes: Fitting Modern Title Into Traditional Societies In Indonesia, Timothy Lindsey

Washington International Law Journal

In Indonesia, diverse interests in land recognised by dozens, maybe hundreds, of different adat (traditional customary legal systems) coexist with a Dutch-derived system of land title. The most problematic adat interest is traditional communal title, or hak ulayat. Indonesia's New Order government sees adat rights—and hak ulayat in particular—as incompatible with the demands of economic development. Although some adat rights are recognised in the key statute regulating interests in land, the Basic Agrarian Law, the New Order government has systematically subverted the standing of adat. Likewise, the land registration system has become a corrupt failure, with the consequence …


Testing The Partnership Model Of Growth Management, Jeffrey Patterson Jul 1998

Testing The Partnership Model Of Growth Management, Jeffrey Patterson

Washington International Law Journal

Three major events can be expected to influence land use and tenure in British Columbia, Canada, well into the future. A new Forest Practices Code and harvesting regulations and settlement of aboriginal land claims will profoundly affect B.C.'s rural and wilderness landscape. A third initiative, a growth management strategy act adopted by the B.C. legislature in 1995 will, however, potentially have a major impact on the urban landscape that most British Columbians experience in their daily lives. Its objective is the promotion of human settlements that are socially, economically and environmentally halthy. This paper explores the particular geographic and political …


Riss V. Angel: Washington Remodels The Framework For Interpreting Restrictive Covenants, Casey J. Little Apr 1998

Riss V. Angel: Washington Remodels The Framework For Interpreting Restrictive Covenants, Casey J. Little

Washington Law Review

In Riss v. Angel, the Supreme Court of Washington declared that in disputes between subdivision homeowners, courts must construe restrictive covenants to give effect to the covenants' intended purposes by considering surrounding circumstances to protect the homeowners' collective interests. The court further held that when restrictive covenants grant discretion to architectural review committees (ARCs) to approve new construction or remodels, ARCs or other homeowners association committees that enforce such covenants must exercise their authority reasonably and in good faith. Riss represents a departure from prior precedent that required courts to construe strictly the terms of restrictive covenants to limit …


Police Power, Gifts, And The Washington Constitution: A Framework For Determining The Validity Of Property Rights Legislation, Gregory M. Mohrman Apr 1996

Police Power, Gifts, And The Washington Constitution: A Framework For Determining The Validity Of Property Rights Legislation, Gregory M. Mohrman

Washington Law Review

In November 1995, Washington voters rejected Initiative 164, a revolutionary property rights law that would have required governmental entities to compensate landowners for any loss in property value due to regulations on land use, unless those regulations were designed to prevent a public nuisance. Despite the initiative's defeat at the polls, a strong property rights movement is likely to prompt legislators to consider implementing a percentage-loss formula for determining when regulators owe compensation to property owners. This Comment discusses the inherent police power of the state to regulate property use in the public interest and argues that percentage-loss laws would …


Suburban Sprawl Or Suburban Villages? Defining Planning Principles For New Land Development In Indonesia, Stephen Day Mar 1996

Suburban Sprawl Or Suburban Villages? Defining Planning Principles For New Land Development In Indonesia, Stephen Day

Washington International Law Journal

Indonesian land use regulations are increasingly designating areas where urban growth is either targeted or excluded, echoing a similar trend in other Pacific Rim nations. Yet as with growth planning in the United States, there is a near total lack of regulatory direction guiding the form or pattern of urban development within the target areas. Sprawling suburban development, essentially patterned after midcentury-style American models, is rapidly consuming the most desirable developable land. Although significant policy goals and legislation are emerging that may provide the basis for suburban land planning principles, neither the central nor provincial governments have consistently articulated such …


Sudden Impact: The Effect Of Dolan V. City Of Tigard On Impact Fees In Washington, Joseph D. Lee Jan 1996

Sudden Impact: The Effect Of Dolan V. City Of Tigard On Impact Fees In Washington, Joseph D. Lee

Washington Law Review

As state and federal funding for public improvements steadily declines and is outstripped by demand, municipalities are turning to impact fees to fund public projects. However, the growth of impact fees has resulted in an increasing number of legal challenges by developers and private land owners. This Comment examines the evolution of impact fees in Washington and explores the legal concerns raised by the fees in light of Dolan v. City of Tigard. The Comment concludes that some impact fee statutes satisfy Dolan's "rough proportionality" test, while others do not adequately meet the U.S. Supreme Court's requirements. Impact …


The Role Of Bureaucracy In Managing Urban Land In Vietnam, John Gillespie Nov 1995

The Role Of Bureaucracy In Managing Urban Land In Vietnam, John Gillespie

Washington International Law Journal

In recent years, the Vietnamese government has opened up its economy to both domestic and foreign private investors. In the construction industry, however, developers must contend with a legal environment fraught with contradictions and idiosyncrasies. The industry is one marked by the subordination of law-widespread patronage, party policy, and traditional customs. While property rights superficially resemble those in Western states, ownership and development are in theory strictly controlled by the central government. But paradoxically, the level of compliance with property laws is substantially lower in Vietnam than in the West. Noncompliance with property laws and building regulations is perpetuated by …


Pinpointing The Beginning And Ending Of A Temporary Regulatory Taking, Gregory M. Stein Oct 1995

Pinpointing The Beginning And Ending Of A Temporary Regulatory Taking, Gregory M. Stein

Washington Law Review

The Supreme Court has held that if a government body regulates land to such an extent that it effectively takes the property, then it must pay just compensation to the landowner. Even if the government elects to rescind the offending regulation, it still must provide compensation to the owner for the duration of the regulatory taking. Unfortunately, the Court has had no occasion to determine when such temporary regulatory takings become effective and when they terminate, and the lower courts only rarely have reached these difficult remedial questions. This Article seeks to pinpoint precisely when a temporary regulatory taking begins …


Sometimes An Impact Fee Is Not Just An Impact Fee: The Possible Inequitable Application Of Hawaii's Impact Fee Statute To Foreign Investors, Jose F. Vera Feb 1995

Sometimes An Impact Fee Is Not Just An Impact Fee: The Possible Inequitable Application Of Hawaii's Impact Fee Statute To Foreign Investors, Jose F. Vera

Washington International Law Journal

Historically, Hawaii has assessed foreign developers high impact fees either as a means to raise capital for affordable housing or as a means to regulate foreign investment. In 1992, Hawaii enacted House Bill 3787, an impact fee statute, to promote uniformity in Hawaii's assessments of impact fees. Although Hawaii's statute provides uniformity for most developers, it still permits local governments to assess foreign developers disproportionately higher impact fees. This Comment examines how a foreign developer might challenge either Hawaii's impact fee statute or an individual impact fee assessment as violating his or her constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal …


Cornering The Quark: Investment-Backed Expectations And Economically Viable Uses In Takings Analysis, Lynda J. Oswald Jan 1995

Cornering The Quark: Investment-Backed Expectations And Economically Viable Uses In Takings Analysis, Lynda J. Oswald

Washington Law Review

Although stressing the "ad hoc, factual" nature of regulatory takings analysis, the United States Supreme Court has, over time, elevated the prominence of two economic tests in its analysis. In this Article, the author criticizes the importance placed on the tests and argues that the validity of a regulation must be determined based on the legitimacy of the governmental objective and the relationship between that objective and the challenged regulation, and not on the economic impact of the regulation on the property owner. The author rejects the notion that exercises of the eminent domain power and valid exercises of the …


Preserving Real Estate Contract Financing In Washington: Resisting The Pressure To Eliminate Forfeiture, Thomas Leo Mckeirnan Jan 1995

Preserving Real Estate Contract Financing In Washington: Resisting The Pressure To Eliminate Forfeiture, Thomas Leo Mckeirnan

Washington Law Review

There is pressure in Washington to abolish the forfeiture remedy from real estate contracts. Eliminating forfeiture would cripple the real estate contract and thus provide a disincentive for sellers to finance sales of their property. This result would be economically unsound and in conflict with the public policy in favor of promoting home ownership. Instead of abolishing forfeiture, the Washington State Legislature should amend current legislation to provide a more sensible and certain forfeiture remedy.


Easements By Necessity: A Threshold For Inholder Access Rights Under The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Galen G.B. Schuler Jan 1995

Easements By Necessity: A Threshold For Inholder Access Rights Under The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Galen G.B. Schuler

Washington Law Review

Nineteenth Century federal land grants created a legacy of private lands surrounded by federal land in the American West. Owners of such lands (inholders) were routinely granted access across federal land by implicit common law rights until the 1960s when federal land policy became more restrictive. In 1981, the Ninth Circuit held that the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) provided a statutory entitlement for inholder access. Since then, the Ninth Circuit also has held that ANILCA preempts any common law access rights. This Comment argues that the common law doctrine of easements by necessity remains a threshold basis …


The Effect Of Lucas V. South Carolina Coastal Council On The Law Of Regulatory Takings, Ann T. Kadlecek Apr 1993

The Effect Of Lucas V. South Carolina Coastal Council On The Law Of Regulatory Takings, Ann T. Kadlecek

Washington Law Review

In Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, the United States Supreme Court established a two-part takings analysis. The first step is an "economically viable use" threshold question, subject to a nuisance exception. The second step is a balancing test in which courts weigh the public and private interests involved. Although this two-part analysis differs in structure from most lower court takings analyses, most courts already apply a functionally equivalent test. Therefore, unless the Court alters the unit of land to which it applies, this new analysis will have little effect on the outcome of takings challenges to land use regulations.


Rights Of Washington Junior Lienors In Nonjudicial Foreclosure—Washington Mutual Savings Bank V. United States, 115 Wash. 2d 52, 793 P.2d 969, Clarified, Reconsideration Denied, 800 P.2d 1124 (Wash. 1990), John D. Sullivan Jan 1992

Rights Of Washington Junior Lienors In Nonjudicial Foreclosure—Washington Mutual Savings Bank V. United States, 115 Wash. 2d 52, 793 P.2d 969, Clarified, Reconsideration Denied, 800 P.2d 1124 (Wash. 1990), John D. Sullivan

Washington Law Review

In Washington Mutual Savings Bank v. United State, the Washington Supreme Court extended the anti-deficiency provisions of the Deed of Trust Act to all non-foreclosing junior lienors. Because this decision makes all junior obligations uncollectible following a nonjudicial foreclosure, it may have a chilling effect on lenders and a serious impact on the availability of home equity loans. This Note examines the Washington Mutual decision and suggests that the court should have determined instead that a deficiency is allowed, but should be computed after applying any surplus value in the property sold against junior obligations. This Note also recommends a …


Taking Issue With Takings: Has The Washington State Supreme Court Gone Too Far?, Jill M. Teutsch Apr 1991

Taking Issue With Takings: Has The Washington State Supreme Court Gone Too Far?, Jill M. Teutsch

Washington Law Review

The Washington State Supreme Court has expressed concern for local governments' potential financial liability under the taking clauses of the federal and state constitutions. Accordingly, the court adopted a comprehensive framework to analyze regulatory challenges and mitigate the chilling effect of potential financial liability. The court, however, went too far in its zeal to promote innovative land-use measures. Its broadly inclusive insulation doctrine allows little room for any regulatory takings. Because the insulation doctrine fails to meet a federal minimum of constitutionality, the doctrine must be relaxed to comport with precedent. To prevent the return of the chilling effect, the …


Philippine Land Reform: The Just Compensation Issue, Timothy Milton Hanstad Apr 1988

Philippine Land Reform: The Just Compensation Issue, Timothy Milton Hanstad

Washington Law Review

This Comment analyzes current Philippine land reform efforts, focusing on the constitutional definition of just compensation. First, the Comment discusses past Philippine land reform efforts. Second, the Comment analyzes legal arguments relating to a fair market value interpretation of just compensation. The Comment concludes that just compensation does not need to be interpreted as fair market value. In fact, such an interpretation may effectively abort any land reform effort in the Philippines, and perpetuate the structure of land ownership which the constitution seeks to remedy. Finally, this Comment proposes an alternative interpretation for land reform valuation that meets the just …