Land Use Law Commons^™

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.

Understanding Sprawl: Lessons From Architecture For Legal Scholars, Mark S. Davies

Michigan Law Review

What is suburban "sprawl"? Why is it undesirable? Why do many Americans nevertheless choose to live in sprawl? Do local zoning laws contribute to sprawl? Can democratic institutions discourage it? Legal scholars are beginning to study these urgent and complex questions. This Essay reviews Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck, leading architects of the influential New Urbanism or traditional town planning movement. This review makes five points about the legal study of sprawl. First, Suburban Nation provides a definition of "sprawl" that the law can …

Our Town: What Is The Role Of Local Government In Environmental Law?, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The scope of environmental law extends beyond the federal statutes most people associate with protecting the natural world. At both the state and local level, governments have broad authority to protect the environmental integrity within their jurisdiction. State legislation such as New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) affect all government actions that may have a negative environmental impact. Furthermore, local governments, using tools originally created to enhance the value and safety of property are now using this authority, and other more novel methods, to mitigate negative environmental impacts. This article gives a brief synopsis on the background of …

Growth In Colorado And The West: Trends And Issues [Outline], James N. Corbridge Jr.

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

4 pages.

Contains references.

Activities Of The Eagle River Assembly, Douglas Kemper

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

14 pages (includes illustrations).

Chronic And Emerging Water Issues In The South Platte/Front Range Corridor, James S. Lochhead

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

16 pages.

Gunnison River: A Local Perspective On Union Park, John R. Hill, Jr.

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

11 pages.

Conjunctive Use In The Denver Basin: The Three Way Agreement, Peter D. Binney

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

14 pages.

Contains references.

Potential For Coordinated Facilities Management Along The Northern Front Range, Marc Waage

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

2 pages.

Emerging Demands In The Colorado Headwaters, Taylor Hawes

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

8 pages.

Groundwater And Growth Management In The New West: Evolving Law And Practice, A. Dan Tarlock

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

13 pages.

The Water Development-Growth Relationship: Case Studies, Edward F. Harvey

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

7 pages.

Doing More With Less: Remaining Opportunities For “Tuning The System”: The Potential For Central Valley System-Wide Conjunctive Water Management, Gregory A. Thomas

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

30 pages (includes illustrations).

Contains footnotes.

Protecting Instream Flows In Prior Appropriation States: Legal And Policy Issues, Janet C. Neuman

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

17 pages.

Coordinated Planning For Water And Land Use: Is It Worth Considering?, Larry Morandi

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

10 pages.

Contains 1 page of references.

Water, Growth And The Endangered Species Act, Holly Doremus

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

24 pages.

Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation Final Report: Report To The Colorado Water Conservation Board, January 1999, Hydrosphere Resource Consultants, Inc. Et Al.

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

207 pages (includes color illustrations and maps).

Contains 5 pages of references.

Regionalized Water Management: An Evolving Hydrocommons?, Gary D. Weatherford

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

26 pages.

Contains footnotes and 8 pages of references.

Growth, Water, And Environmental Values, Bruce C. Driver, Bart Miller

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

17 pages.

The Social Costs Of Moving Water In Northern New Mexico, David Benavides

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

15 pages.

Agenda: Water And Growth In The West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, The William And Flora Hewlett Foundation

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

1 v. (various pagings) : ill., maps ; 29 cm. + 1 CD-ROM (4 3/4 in.) + supplement (207 p. ; 29 x 24 cm.)

"Conference co-sponsor The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation."

Conference moderators included University of Colorado School of Law professors Gary C. Bryner, James N. Corbridge, Jr., David H. Getches, Douglas S. Kenney, Kathryn M. Mutz, Peter D. Nichols and Charles F. Wilkinson.

Accompanied by: CD-ROM (4 3/4 in.) and supplement (xiv, 140, [49] p.)

Includes bibliographical references

The event will cover a breadth of issues, including demographics and water-use trends, improved planning and efficient use, implementation …

Growth Pressures And Tmdls, David G. Davis, Jamal M. Kadri, Teresa J. Norfleet

Water and Growth in the West (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

18 pages.

Smart Growth: Localism: A Theoretical Analysis, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article explores the concept of smart growth, which promotes development in central city districts in an effort to reduce urban sprawl. Specifically, this feature discusses how smart growth is accomplished at all levels of the government, and contrasts top-down versus bottom-up land use control. In the past, local land use initiatives have been mostly unsuccessful at solving larger regional problems. Fears exist among scholars and politicians that federal or state land use legislation will fail to meet the specific individual needs of local governments. However, through the use of state created incentives and other programs, communities in New York …

Managing Growth: Local Governments: Drawing The Boundaries, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Bounded growth, a concept that encourages focused development into compact areas such as preexisting town centers, or areas rich in public transportation, is a necessary concept within the smart growth paradigm. Bounding human growth patterns facilitates the creation of sustainable, eco-friendly land usage. In New York, where the state legislature gives local governments broad authority to perform land use functions, such as bounded growth, municipalities have the option of utilizing controlled growth by amending their comprehensive plans. This article discusses bounded growth and several other underutilized tools municipalities have at their disposal to help promote smart growth by directing development …

Three Issues For The City In The 21st Century, Richard Briffault

Faculty Scholarship

The title for this year’s program of the Section on Urban, State and Local Government Law of the Association of American Law Schools is The City in the 21st Century. These three articles provide a stimulating introduction to three issues that are likely to be central to the study of the city in the twenty-first century-as they were in the twentieth century and in the nineteenth century: the interplay of local and regional forces in land development, the battles among interest groups to control city hall, and the role of local government in promoting local economic development. These issues are …

Preserving Open Lands: Local Zoning And Financing Authority Work Together, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

State governments vest great authority in local governments to decide how and where private development shall occur, and in the alternative, where to preserve open land. The New York state legislature recognizes the importance of protecting open lands, and as such, has created several laws to facilitate local municipal action. Several methods exist that municipal government may use to accomplish this goal and this article provides several examples. For instance, the New York Court of Appeals, in the case of Bonnie Briar Syndicate, Inc. v. Town of Mamaroneck, held that a local zoning ordinance, which rezoned a large area for …

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 …

Transparencies Used In The Introductory Remarks Of Doug Kenney, Ph.D., Natural Resources Law Center, Douglas Kenney

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

6 pages.

Nebraska V. Wyoming: The End Or Collaboration?, Wendy Weiss, James Montgomery

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

13 pages.

Contains footnotes.

Collaborative Approaches To Conservation: A Critical Look, Larry Macdonnell

Strategies in Western Water Law and Policy: Courts, Coercion and Collaboration (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

7 pages.