Land Use Law Commons^™

Land Use Law Update: New York's New Climate Change Resiliency Law, Sarah Adams-Schoen

Scholarly Works

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

Scholarly Works

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.

Regulating Hydraulic Fracturing Through Land Use: State Preemption Prevails, Kevin J. Duffy

University of Colorado Law Review

Hydraulic fracturing enables oil and gas operators to maximize hydrocarbon extraction from unconventional reservoirs. The increasing prevalence of fracturing generates robust debate and review of the environmental and economic impacts of the practice. An unbiased political dialogue of fracturing proves challenging. The technical complexity of the process and the divergent perceptions of local and state decision-makers foment regulatory tension. A division-of authority contest between the state government and home-rule cities ensues. In Colorado, state-level preemption gives courts a tool to invalidate local regulation of oil and gas activities where an operational conflict exists between the state and local law. However, …

Agenda: Water, Oil And Gas: Nuts And Bolts Of Oil And Gas Leases, Surface Use Agreements, And Water Rights For Non-Oil And Gas Attorneys, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute (Denver, Colo.), Colorado Bar Association. Natural Resources & Energy Section

Water, Oil and Gas: Nuts and Bolts of Oil and Gas Leases, Surface Use Agreements, and Water Rights for Non-Oil and Gas Attorneys (September 26)

This third program in the Water, Oil, and Gas 101 series was designed to provide those who don’t practice in the area with essential information regarding leases, surface use agreements, siting considerations for oil and gas facilities, the resolution of disputes before the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), the ins and outs of nontributary and produced nontributary ground water, and water rights as an asset.

Program topics include:

• Oil and Gas Leases
• Surface Use Agreements (SUAs)
• Government’s Role in Authorizing Locations for Oil and Gas Development
• Technical Aspects of Nontributary and Produced Nontributary Ground Water
• Produced Nontributary Ground …

Cityland – Vol. 10, No. 7, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2013

This issue of CityLand highlights key land use and preservation developments in New York City as of August 2013. The City Planning Commission held hearings on Phase 1 of the Willets Point redevelopment and the adAPT NYC micro-unit pilot program. The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Holland Plaza Building and considered several controversial proposals, including a seven-story building in Greenwich Village and a two-story addition to the Evelyn on the Upper West Side. A new residential building at 74 Grand Street incorporating a salvaged cast-iron façade was approved. The Steinway & Sons reception room was considered for interior landmark designation. …

Zoning For Apartments: A Study Of The Role Of Law In The Control Of Apartment Houses In New Haven, Connecticut 1912–1932, Marie Boyd

Pace Law Review

This Article attempts to present a more comprehensive and detailed examination of the place of apartments—before, during, and after the enactment of zoning—than has been presented in the literature to date through an examination of the impact of apartment houses on both pre-zoning land use patterns and the zoning process in New Haven. This Study examines the period between 1912 and 1932, with a particular emphasis on the period between 1922 and 1926. The latter period begins with the selection of New Haven’s first Zoning Commission in 1922 and concludes with the passage of New Haven’s first zoning ordinance in …

Cityland – Vol. 10, No. 6, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2013

This issue of CityLand covers significant land use and preservation developments in New York City as of July 2013. The City Council approved the BAM South mixed-use cultural and residential tower in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, with increased affordable housing and cultural space commitments. The Council also passed the “Brunch Bill,” allowing sidewalk cafes to open earlier on Sundays. The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Forest Park Carousel, the Beaumont Apartments in Harlem, the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, the Marine Midland Bank, and the Seward Park Library. Hearings were held for the South Village Historic District and the former …

Cityland – Vol. 10, No. 5, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2013

This issue of CityLand covers major land use and preservation developments in New York City as of June 2013. The City Council reviewed legislation to streamline sidewalk café licensing and expand operating hours, sparking debate over community board review timelines. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a revised six-story residential building at 42 Crosby Street and authorized emergency facade demolition at 321–323 Canal Street due to structural instability. Tammany Hall at 100 East 17th Street entered the landmarking process, and the Marine Midland Bank building at 140 Broadway received strong support for designation. A guest commentary from Time’s Up highlighted the …

Cityland – Vol. 10, No. 4, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2013

This issue of CityLand highlights key land use and preservation developments in New York City as of May 2013. The City Planning Commission began review of adAPT NYC, the City’s first micro-unit housing development, featuring 55 compact apartments and shared amenities. The Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the designation of the Seward Park branch of the New York Public Library, a 1909 Carnegie-funded building. A new sustainable office and retail development near the Puck Building in SoHo was approved, praised for its green design and contextual sensitivity. The Bedford-Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District was designated, concluding a 20-year …

Zoning And The Vested Right To Use Property: There Ought To Be A Right! , Hugh Breckenridge

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

California Planning Law: Requirements For Low And Moderate Income Housing , C. Foster Knight

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Luncheon Address: Planning Decision Making - Balancing Legislative Restrictions, Modern Technology, Community Input, And Personal Objectives , Robert J. West

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Subdivision Regulation: Political Armageddon Of Consumer, Property Owner And Environmental Rights , James E. Erickson

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hagman's Hallucinations: Some Predictions About Planning Law In California , Donald G. Hagman

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Limits Of Government Land Use Regulation - An Expanding Concept , Roger A. Grable

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Diminution In Value Is Not Inverse Condemnation: Hfh, Ltd. V. Superior Court , Daniel J. Gavin

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Right Of Control Over The City Plan: Local Planner Versus The State Legislature And The Court, Carlyle W. Hall Jr.

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Adoption Of The General Plan In California: Prelude To A Permanent Constitution, Donald M. Pach, Thomas E. Hookano, John E. Fischer

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Exclusionary Zoning - An Unfair Target, Werner Z. Hirsch

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cityland – Vol. 10, No. 3, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2013

This issue of CityLand highlights major land use and preservation developments in New York City as of April 2013. The City Council approved Trinity Church’s Special Hudson Square District rezoning with modifications to encourage affordable housing and open space, including landmarking efforts for the South Village. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a revised nine-story building at 325 West Broadway and rejected a proposed building adjacent to the Merchant’s House Museum due to design and preservation concerns. Alloy Development’s townhouse project at 55 Pearl Street in DUMBO received approval after design refinements. A new building at 74 Grand Street will incorporate …

Zoning For Apartments: A Study Of The Role Of Law In The Control Of Apartment Houses In New Haven, Connecticut 1912–1932, Marie C. Boyd

Faculty Publications

This article seeks to contribute to the legal and policy debates over zoning by providing a more detailed examination of the impact of apartments on both pre-zoning land use patterns and the zoning process during the formative initial stages of zoning in the United States than has been provided in the literature to date. Specifically, this Article analyzes the impact of apartments on both pre-zoning land use patterns and the zoning process in New Haven, Connecticut. It focuses on the period beginning with the selection of New Haven’s first Zoning Commission in 1922, and concluding with the passage of New …

Using Zoning Tools To Adapt To Sea Level Rise, Barb Marmet

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Cityland – Vol. 10, No. 2, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2013

This issue of CityLand covers key land use and preservation developments in New York City as of March 2013. Highlights include City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s State of the City Address, which focused on affordable housing and middle-class support. The Council held hearings on the Special Hudson Square District rezoning, with concerns raised about open space and landmarking the adjacent South Village. The Council also approved the rezoning of the Maple Lanes Bowling Alley site in Brooklyn for a 112-unit residential development and a synagogue. The City Planning Commission approved the Hudson Square rezoning with modifications, including height adjustments and …

Chasing The Atticus Code - Preserving Adjudication Integrity In Local Administrative Hearings , Michael N. Widener

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

In the United States administrative law realm, there purportedly exist more than 19 thousand municipal governments, 16 thousand town or township governments; three thousand county governments, 13 thousand school districts and 35 thousand special district governments. This essay argues that these local adjudicative loci largely neglect the ethical guidance or direction of lawyers serving in government-official capacities without holding elected nor judicial positions. I dub these decision-makers “Atticus.” Citizens support the notion of external codes of professional responsibility for such persons not necessarily because they believe that “lawyering rules” are well constructed or property enforced, but because they doubt lawyers …

Corporate Social Responsibility And Conservation: The Preservation Of Ecology And Culture To Sustain The Sea Islands, Kamille Wolff Dean

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article posits that corporate real estate development of coastal property can coexist with conservation strategies to preserve the ecological and cultural integrity of the barrier islands along the southeastern seaboard. Reformed corporate land use techniques that reflect prudent and sustainable master-planned communities may result in manageable natural and cultural resource preservation. The Introduction defines the historical, cultural, and ecological significance of the Sea Islands, an archipelago stretching from the Carolinas to Florida. Part I presents a series of corporate real estate redevelopment projects on the Sea Islands for analysis. Part II sets forth viable solutions for the implementation of …

Cityland – Vol. 10, No. 1, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2013

This issue of CityLand highlights major land use and preservation developments in New York City as of February 2013. It opens with a retrospective of the top ten stories of 2012, including NYU’s campus expansion, the landmarking of Brinckerhoff Cemetery, and the Chelsea Market expansion. The City Council approved the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District, while the City Planning Commission celebrated its 75th anniversary and advanced the Durst West 57th Street development. A proposed rezoning in Flushing faced opposition from Community Board 7. Landmark Preservation Commission approved the renovation of the Rainbow Room and denied legalization of unauthorized alterations …

Agins V. City Of Tiburon: Open Space Zoning Prevails - Failure To Submit Master Plan Prevents A Cognizable Decrease In Property Value, Jermaine Chastain

Pepperdine Law Review

This casenote examines the Supreme Court's struggle to reconcile its focus on the facial validity of a zoning ordinance with the traditional "taking" approach requiring diligent factual inquiry. While the Agins Court reiterates such an approach, the author notes the Court's departure from important constitutional and precedential considerations. The author offers a possible explanation for the departure, concluding that the Agins decision apparently makes plan submission a prerequisite for acknowledging economic loss and strongly implies a requirement of complete loss of all property value before a compensable taking will be recognized.

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

Scholarly Works

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 …

Governmental Conservation Easements: A Means To Advance Efficiency, Freedom From Coercion, Flexibility, And Democracy, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

Over the past twenty-five years, courts and commentators have recognized and upheld conservation easements as an important vehicle to preserve natural and ecologically sensitive land, focusing primarily on easements held by nonprofit organizations (NPOs). During the same period, courts and commentators have supported property rights of owners against governmental land use regulation. This paper maintains that these two independent developments militate for the increased use of consensual conservation easements by governmental entities to achieve public land preservation goals. Governmental conservation easements can realize the benefits of efficiency, consent and free choice, and conservation, while avoiding the coercion implicit in public …

A Room Of One's Own? Accessory Dwelling Unit Reforms And Local Parochialism, Margaret F. Brinig, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Journal Articles

Over the past decade, a number of state and local governments have amended land use regulations to permit the accessory dwelling units (“ADUs”) on single-family lots. Measured by raw numbers of reforms, the campaign to secure legal reforms permitting ADUs appears to be a tremendous success. The question remains, however, whether these reforms overcome the well-documented land-use parochialism that has, for decades, represented a primary obstacle to increasing the supply of affordable housing. In order to understand more about their actual effects, this Article examines ADU reforms in a context which ought to predict a minimal level of local parochialism. …