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Articles 31 - 60 of 60
Full-Text Articles in Law
Despite Alarmists, 'Kelo' Decision Protects Property Owners And Serves The General Good, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Despite Alarmists, 'Kelo' Decision Protects Property Owners And Serves The General Good, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New London, has spurred national debate, as many people portray the court’s decision as a damaging blow to private property rights. In Kelo, the court confirmed local government’s ability to condemn property in an area designated as blighted by the state, in order to encourage economic development. This article highlights several positive examples of this sort of condemnation in New York case law, where the public interest was served by economic redevelopment. The article goes further, to distinguish several legal decisions from Kelo, where courts invalidated condemnations upon a …
Paradigms Of Positive Change: Reordering The Nation's Land Use System, John R. Nolon
Paradigms Of Positive Change: Reordering The Nation's Land Use System, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article begins with a brief look at the system’s familiar dysfunctions, continues with a lengthier examination of positive examples of reform, emphasizes the importance of coalition building in the reform process, and ends with the observation that reform efforts should be organized by the task of creating essential connections among the governments involved.
Religion And Law Use: Constraints On Local Boards' Decision Making, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Religion And Law Use: Constraints On Local Boards' Decision Making, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
While local legislatures generally have broad authority to enact land use regulations that serve a public interest, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act as well as constitutional limits found in the First Amendment limit religious land use regulations that seek to restrict religious freedom. This article explores the Second Circuit’s decision in Westchester Day School v. Village of Mamaroneck, and makes suggestions about the future implications of the court’s decision.
Religion And Land Use: Westchester Day School V. Village Of Mamaroneck, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Religion And Land Use: Westchester Day School V. Village Of Mamaroneck, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The Westchester Day School and the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) of the Village of Mamaroneck were involved with several lawsuits stemming from a rescinded “negative” State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) determination by the ZBA after local public outcry of the school’s expansion. This article explores the relationship between Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and land use regulations, and comes to the conclusions that Congress enacted the RLUIPA to ensure religious organization landowners are not singled out to bear the burdens of the general public.
'Saddle Rock': Preemption Of Local Land Use Prerogatives, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
'Saddle Rock': Preemption Of Local Land Use Prerogatives, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Local municipalities have broad authority to regulate land use as provided in state legislation. Like all higher forms of legislation, state law occasionally preempts local legislatures from enacting laws. Generally preemption is appropriate when the area to be regulated by the local laws is comprehensively regulated by state law, the uniformity of the state law will benefit the localities, and inconsistencies in local law are harmful to land owners and municipalities. This article discusses the pros and cons of state preemption on various types of land use regulation.
Local Authority: Communities Have Means Of Influencing Land Use, John R. Nolon
Local Authority: Communities Have Means Of Influencing Land Use, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This case analysis examines several court decisions, including the results of three New York Court of Appeals cases where litigants challenged the constitutionality of municipal land use decisions. In each case, the court afforded the municipality deference and found that their objectives were rationally related to the decisions, mostly decisions to deny development. However, this presumption of validity given to local legislatures and quasi-judicial agencies presents a problem when land use decisions affect outside municipalities. Thankfully, through the use of training programs, municipalities are learning to work together to resolve intermunicipal land use issues.
Local Land Use: Decision Expands Federal Government's Role, John R. Nolon
Local Land Use: Decision Expands Federal Government's Role, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pursuant to its authority under the Clean Water Act, has promulgated regulations creating the Storm Water Management Program. Contrary to the overall Clean Water Act scheme, which focuses on reducing pollution from point sources, the program has the objective of reducing non-point source water pollution. However, this program is not without controversy as heavy burdens are placed upon local governments, who themselves lack the financial resources, manpower, or technology to implement a complex federal system without federal or state assistance.
Open Meetings: Land Use Mediation And The Public's Right To Know, John R. Nolon
Open Meetings: Land Use Mediation And The Public's Right To Know, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Great uncertainty surrounds the New York Open Meetings Law (OML), a law that permits the public to attend meetings of public bodies. Obviously, the OML becomes especially crucial in the area of land use where public governmental meetings are the norm, and conflicts usually involve several interested parties. This article delves into OML issues such as, what constitutes a public meeting, and the importance of having meetings open to the public.
Smart Growth: Intermunicipal Innovation In Orange County, John R. Nolon
Smart Growth: Intermunicipal Innovation In Orange County, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article tells the story of the town of Warwick, a rapidly developing town in Orange County, New York, made up of three separate villages. Warwick’s proactive measures to prevent the sprawl development phenomenon through the use of an intermunicipal compact was met with much opposition by the three individual village governments, as well as individual citizens. Through the use of mediation, a popular alternative resolution dispute method, representatives from the villages negotiated an intermunicpal plan that satisfied the needs all three villages, while still meeting the original objectives of preserving open space, scenic views, and agricultural lands.
Performance Zoning: Shaping Land Development Patterns Today, John R. Nolon
Performance Zoning: Shaping Land Development Patterns Today, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Over thirty years ago The United States Court of Appeals upheld municipal efforts to control growth in the case Golden v. Ramapo. Since then, municipalities have come up with novel tools to harness development into sustainable patterns while mitigating damaging effects of sprawl. This article focuses on the renaissance of one popular land use device, performance zoning, and how the Town of Hyde Park uses this tool to promote growth in community centers and protect undeveloped areas.
'Golden' Anniversary: 30-Year-Old Decision Is Fabric Of Land Use Law, John R. Nolon
'Golden' Anniversary: 30-Year-Old Decision Is Fabric Of Land Use Law, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The famous New York case of Golden v. Ramapo helped create the movement towards smart growth thirty years ago. Ramapo, like most other towns in New York struggled with the familiar quandary of how to balance the pressures of absorbing growth while still controlling urban sprawl. Ramapo’s solution, to greatly reduce development in its jurisdiction for eighteen years in order to research more efficient development methods, sparked much controversy with local land owners. The United States Court of Appeals, in one of New York’s most significant contributions to smart growth, upheld Ramapo’s plan and created a groundbreaking precedent still widely …
'Tahoe' Case: When Environmental Regulations Go 'Too Far', John R. Nolon
'Tahoe' Case: When Environmental Regulations Go 'Too Far', John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article reviews a recently decided United States Supreme Court case which held that a thirty-two month moratorium on development did not constitute a taking per se. The Court, building on logic from other recent decisions, found that moratoria are an effective land use tool, which prevent inefficient land development and consequently lead to increased land value. This article analyzes the court’s decision to hold that moratoria are never takings per se, instead holding that a court shall perform an ad hoc analysis to determine a moratorium’s constitutionality.
Local Protection: Raising A Matter Of 'Sovereign Concern', John R. Nolon
Local Protection: Raising A Matter Of 'Sovereign Concern', John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Challenges to the expansion of local initiatives aimed at local environmental protection question the powers delegated to municipal governments from the state. New York case precedent suggests that express and implied police power authority conferred from the state to municipalities is a broad concept and includes the power to protect natural resources, scenic views, and other environmental concerns. Through the use of this power, localities are better able to meet the environmental challenges they are faced with by using innovative grass-roots initiatives
Battle For The Ages: Defining Federal Power To Affect Local Land Use, John R. Nolon
Battle For The Ages: Defining Federal Power To Affect Local Land Use, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Under the 10th Amendment, the United States Constitution allows states to control land use within their jurisdiction. The federal government therefore, in its efforts to mitigate environmental damages caused by sprawl and over development, is limited to federal statutes carried about by federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency managed Clean Water Act. Although these federal programs are helpful at reducing pollution from point sources, they are precluded from regulating non-point sources, such as the increased storm water run-off caused by expanding development. Through federally backed programs, states could support regional land use planning that would encourage stronger environmental …
In Our Backyards: Analyzing Local Authority To Adopt Environmental Laws, John R. Nolon
In Our Backyards: Analyzing Local Authority To Adopt Environmental Laws, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
While the authority of municipalities to partake in land use decisions is a well-established concept, a question often arises concerning local legislative authority to adopt environmental laws. This article discusses some of the arguments advocating local environmental authority by highlighting the correlation between land use law and environmental law. Also discussed in this article, is the authority granted to local governments by the state legislature and court decisions to mitigate adverse environmental impacts.
Land Use Development: Proper Planning Creates Smart Growth, Prevents Sprawl, John R. Nolon
Land Use Development: Proper Planning Creates Smart Growth, Prevents Sprawl, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The proliferation of sprawl development patterns across the United States causes several problems such as degradation of forests, farmland, and natural resources, plus the declining health of central cities. Sprawl is a well-documented phenomenon among environmentalists, politicians, taxpayers, and others. Many alternative “smart growth” solutions exist to mitigate the damages of sprawl. Government focus on more restrained development patterns such as traditional urban neighborhoods, and other solutions exist, and are waiting to be implemented. This article reviews municipal efforts in New York in the application of comprehensive smart growth methods
Mediation As A Tool In Local Environmental And Land Use Controversies, John R. Nolon
Mediation As A Tool In Local Environmental And Land Use Controversies, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article dedicates itself to highlighting the benefits of alternative dispute resolution. Through the use of mediation and other flexible alternative dispute resolution methods, many conflicts can be resolved without the use of expensive and timely litigation. In turn, court workloads are relieved and cooperation is fostered among neighbors, companies, and other groups or organizations that would have otherwise resorted to litigation to solve a dispute. Negotiations that involve process experts, such as mediators and facilitators, often diffuse disputes by introducing a cooperative, rather than an adversarial attitude. Government is beginning to embrace alternative dispute resolution and legislatures are passing …
Intermunicipal Compacts; Regional Land Use Strategies Work At The Grassroots Level, John R. Nolon
Intermunicipal Compacts; Regional Land Use Strategies Work At The Grassroots Level, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Regional land use control has long been a difficult issue in New York as most localities refuse to acknowledge responsibility for problems extending beyond their own borders. New York law enables municipalities to cooperate among one another to devise improved solutions to land use, and other issues. This article studies the state history of regional land use and provides several successful examples of how grassroots regionalism can change the way municipal governments think about land use and solve problems.
Impact Statements: Regulations Leave Room For Delays In Seqra Proceedings, John R. Nolon
Impact Statements: Regulations Leave Room For Delays In Seqra Proceedings, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
SEQRA, the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, creates a process whereby public actions are reviewed with the intent to mitigate adverse environmental impacts. The SEQRA process has several flexible time constraints, which through negotiation, may be extended. Issues often arise due to the discrepancies between SEQRA’s imposed time limits and the time limits imposed on land use boards to make determinations about proposed projects. The question of which time limits apply was determined in Sun Beach Real Estate Corp. v. Anderson Beach. In that case, the court held that decisions, such as site plan approval deadlines, do not …
Community Involvement: Facilitation Adds Flexibility To Land Use Decision-Making, John R. Nolon
Community Involvement: Facilitation Adds Flexibility To Land Use Decision-Making, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
SEQRA, the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, creates a process whereby public actions are reviewed with the intent to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of those actions. Recently decided New York case law has created flexibility in the SEQRA process by allowing developers, among others, to revamp proposed projects early in the application process in order to expedite SEQRA and save substantial amounts of money. A New York court held that using public meetings to garner information and negotiate different aspects of a proposed project, and a determination of a negative declaration (the proposed project will have no …
Wetlands Controls: Untangling An Intricate Web Of Rules, John R. Nolon
Wetlands Controls: Untangling An Intricate Web Of Rules, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article discusses the controversy surrounding legislation protecting wetlands, including the proposed revisions to National Wetlands Permit Number 26. Federal, state, and local governments all play a critical role in wetlands regulation. The potential of these different levels of government can be maximized through a coordinated effort, avoiding situations where applicable laws from one level of government run contrary to laws of another level of government, which often results in unnecessary litigation. This article discusses these issues, and also provides examples of intergovernmental wetlands regulation success.
Protecting Scenic Assets: Regulations Based On Study, Expert Reports And Rationality, John R. Nolon
Protecting Scenic Assets: Regulations Based On Study, Expert Reports And Rationality, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Many municipalities are seeking to protect scenic assets through a combination of land use tools and implied police powers. These tools include comprehensive planning, subdivision and site plan approval, and in New York, execution of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). An example of scenic protection is North Elba, New York, where the local planning board denied Wal-Mart’s application to construct a store because the store would compromise the viewshed of a nearby mountain. This article reviews the SEQRA process in the Wal-Mart case and also reviews several other methods municipalities may use to protect environmental and aesthetic interests.
Affordable Housing: State Lacks Definition Of Need And Municipal Responsibility, John R. Nolon
Affordable Housing: State Lacks Definition Of Need And Municipal Responsibility, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
New York case law has created an obligation for communities to provide low-income housing in order to meet regional needs. The courts have found exclusionary zoning to be an unconstitutional practice, and may require communities to amend zoning ordinances that act in an exclusionary manner. The burden for plaintiffs to prove an ordinance is unconstitutionally exclusionary has been greatly impacted by the existence of regional housing studies. However, legislative progress in New York continues to lag behind surrounding states, as New Jersey and Connecticut legislatures have put statutory components in place to ease burden of proof in challenges to exclusionary …
Flexibility In The Law: Reengineering Of Zoning To Prevent Fragmented Landscapes, John R. Nolon
Flexibility In The Law: Reengineering Of Zoning To Prevent Fragmented Landscapes, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The continued existence vernal pools and other sensitive environmental areas greatly depends upon local and state land use decisions. Practices such as Euclidian Zoning, where land uses are separated into different districts, usually fail to account for the protection of these sensitive areas. However, local governments in New York, using implied municipal power created by state legislation, have a variety of land use tools to help alleviate the destruction of environmentally sensitive areas. These tools include: overlay zoning, incentive zoning, conservation easements, floating zones, and transferring development rights. By using these tools within a well-integrated strategy, New York communities can …
The Search For A National Land Use Policy: For The Cities' Sake, Shelby D. Green
The Search For A National Land Use Policy: For The Cities' Sake, Shelby D. Green
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article offers a survey of federal legislation and statements of policy that have shaped and directed land use and related phenomena, including the location of population, economic growth, and the character of urban development. Part I of this article provides a historical development of land use policies and laws, as well as presents academic and scientific theories supporting a national land use policy. Part II of this article describes patterns of urban and suburban growth and their consequences, such as the decline of the viability of cities and the loss of agricultural land. Part III discusses the government's spending …
Recreational Zoning: Concept Used In Inappropriate Context Raises Troubling Issues, John R. Nolon
Recreational Zoning: Concept Used In Inappropriate Context Raises Troubling Issues, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The Second Department Appellate Division’s holding in Bonnie Briar Syndicate, Inc. v. Mamaroneck upheld local rezoning in Mamaroneck, New York, from residential to recreational use despite legal challenges that the zoning change constituted an unreasonable use of municipal police power as well as a regulatory taking. The case cited several New York precedents. Each held that so long as rezoning is in accordance with the local comprehensive plan, the zoning shall be held constitutional. However, concerns linger among private residents and local municipalities regarding recreational rezoning projects, which despite providing significant benefits for the community, must be justified by a …
City's Watershed Regulation: Localities, Landowners Object To Changes In Jurisdiction, John R. Nolon
City's Watershed Regulation: Localities, Landowners Object To Changes In Jurisdiction, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The Watershed Rules and Regulations, created by New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, influence several facets of law, including the ability of local governments to regulate actions such as construction. Several landowners in the affected area have taken issue with the regulation. Specifically, they challenge the constitutionality of the city’s extraterritorial control on outside municipalities because of the resulting diminutive effect of the regulations on private property values. This article discusses these issues, as well as the legal ability for potential plaintiffs to sue.
Rfra Is Not Needed: New York Land Use Regulations Accommodate Religious Use, John R. Nolon
Rfra Is Not Needed: New York Land Use Regulations Accommodate Religious Use, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The case of City of Boerne v. Flores marked an important day in the history of the Constitution. The decision of the United States Supreme Court invalidated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as applied to a local Texas zoning ordinance. The ordinance created a historical preservation area in an attempt to curb a church from expanding its buildings. The Supreme Court held that the Freedom Restoration Act went beyond Congress’s power because of the Act’s broad coverage and potential to intrude on laws regardless of context. This holding parallels the general application of the New York case law, which, generally …
Land Use Law Reform: A Judicial And Practical Imperative, John R. Nolon
Land Use Law Reform: A Judicial And Practical Imperative, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
The practical lesson learned from a review of New York case law on land use planning is straightforward: judges will seldom overturn land use regulations when it is obvious, in the structure of the regulatory program, that considerable and comprehensive planning is involved. When judges sustain land use regulations, they routinely find in the regulatory scheme a valid local planning objective that saves the regulation from falling under the property owner's attack. The bases for this judicial reasoning lie in the statutory requirement that zoning provisions must be adopted "in accordance with" a "comprehensive plan" and the constitutional requirement that …
Local Land Use Control In New York: An Aging Citadel Under Siege, John R. Nolon
Local Land Use Control In New York: An Aging Citadel Under Siege, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
In New York, local officials determine the shape and pace of land development, decide the economic fate of land owners and are the stewards of our natural resources. The system of local control of land use has remained relatively static since it was first created by the state legislature over seven decades ago. Today, however, it is under siege. Its strength is being sapped by preemptive state and federal regulations; it is being attacked by environmentalists and developers alike. The state's highest court has called for fundamental reform.