Land Use Law Commons^™

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.

How To Make America Walkable, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

Review of Walkable City, by Jeff Speck

The Durability Of Private Claims To Public Property, Bruce R. Huber

Journal Articles

Property rights and resource use are closely related. Scholarly inquiry about their relation, however, tends to emphasize private property arrangements while ignoring public property — property formally owned by government. The well-known tragedies of the commons and anticommons, for example, are generally analyzed with reference to the optimal form and degree of private ownership. But what about property owned by the state? The federal government alone owns nearly one-third of the land area of the United States. One could well ask: is there a tragedy associated with public property, too? If there is, here is what it might look like: …

New Mexico Water Law Capsules, Stephanie Tsosie

Water Matters!

This article contains a list some of the key cases decided in the state and federal courts of New Mexico with very brief descriptions of the rulings. The finalized cases have been arranged by topic. This chapter is intended to be a quick and handy reference guide and not a thorough summary of the facts and law of each case. This year we have also included a list of water law statutes.

Water Conservation, Consuelo Bokum

Water Matters!

New Mexico always has had periods of water shortages, some far more long lasting and devastating than others. As warming temperature and changing weather patterns continue to develop, the likelihood that water shortages—like those felt throughout the state from 2010 through 2013—will occur with greater frequency. These changes can and have caused significant economic and environmental damage, and the risk of more harm will not improve unless we improve our water management significant.

Drought, Adrian Oglesby

Water Matters!

New Mexico is renowned for its high deserts, mild climate, and abundant sunshine. Incidentally, these physical attributes, which make New Mexico so unique and beautiful, are also characteristic of a naturally dry environment. The state has been subjected to severe drought conditions in the past, alternating with times of uncharacteristically high supplies of moisture upon which its population has at times over-relied.

This article will provide various definitions of drought and a short history of drought in New Mexico; discuss impacts of drought on the state’s human water user communities and environment; discuss in brief the priority call and water …

Priority Administration, Ed Merta

Water Matters!

Since the turn of the twenty first century, drought conditions have frequently stricken much of New Mexico. Such intervals of extreme dryness have been a permanent, recurring feature of the state’s climate for at least two thousand years, according to tree ring data and other scientific evidence. Some of these past droughts lasted for decades, exceeding in severity the Dust Bowl of the 1930sand the great New Mexico drought of the 1950s. Today, climate change models indicate that the Southwest will likely become even hotter, potentially making future droughts in New Mexico more extreme. Managing water shortages promises to become …

Active Water Resource Management, Paul Bossert, Gregory C. Ridgley

Water Matters!

For decades, most of the waters of the State of New Mexico have been the subject of water rights adjudications to establish all the water rights. Stream systems and sub-basins geographically define the adjudications. There are twelve active cases. However, complete adjudication of all New Mexico water rights is still many years away. Meanwhile, water use in the state has evolved.New water users increasingly look to acquire existing water rights rather than developing new rights. Decisions on administration, distribution, and redistribution of water have to be made.

It was widely held, though not unanimously, that the State Engineer needed greater …

Domestic Wells, Paul Bossert, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

The domestic well statutes direct that the State Engineer “shall” issue a permit for certain types of temporary or low volume wells, including wells for household use. For the past fifty-five years, the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) has interpreted this to mean that such permits are granted with no evaluation, public notice, or hearing.

Water For New Mexico Rivers, Beth Bardwell, Adrian Oglesby

Water Matters!

The Rio Grande, the Pecos, the Gila, the San Juan, the Canadian—New Mexico’s rivers are synonymous with the state’s culture and natural heritage. New Mexicans overwhelmingly care about the health of the state’s rivers and that includes flows to support fish and river dependent wildlife. Rivers, wetlands, and riparian areas comprise a very small part of our landscape—a mere 1 percent. This 1 percent plays an essential role in renewing the state’s water supply for its two million residents; for sustaining the state’s second largest industry—tourism; for producing food and fiber; and for sustaining New Mexico’s web of life. Eighty …

Inter-Basin Water Transfers, Anne Minard

Water Matters!

Inter-basin water transfers move water from one watershed to another. As droughts constrict the availability of water, and cities grow larger and thirstier, such transfers are increasingly being eyed as a solution. Although inter-basin transfers usually do not increase the overall availability of water in a state, they can move water to where it is needed most. Some of the main proponents of inter-basin transfers are pro-growth city and state governments as the re-allocation of water across watersheds allows for flexibility in planning for future growth.

Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, Jerold Widdison, Pat Page

Water Matters!

In March of 2009, the Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the“Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009". The Project is a major endeavor for northwestern New Mexico. In one sense,authorization of the project culminates years of work. In another sense, it means the beginning of many additional years of effort. There is much to be done to construct and carry the project forward to reality, including work for the federal government,the State of New Mexico, the Navajo Nation, and the city of Gallup. In view of the Project’s magnitude, this article reviews only its major aspects

The Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, And Tesuque Pueblos Settlement, Paul Bossert, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

The “Aamodt case” is a complex, long-running adjudication of water rights in the Pojoaque River watershed northwest of Santa Fe. In 1966,it was filed in federal court as State of New Mexico, ex rel. State Engineer,et al. v. Aamodt, et al. The parties include the State, through the State Engineer, about 5,600 non-Indian claimants, the Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque,San Ildefonso, and Tesuque, and governmental entities such as the county of Santa Fe, many acequias, the Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District, and several federal and state agencies.

Taos Pueblo Water Rights Settlement, Paul Bossert, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

In November of 2010, the Congress passed the Claims Resolution Act and on December 8, President Obama signed it into law. Title V of the Claims Act, the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, settles the Pueblo portion of the Abeyta case and approves an agreement signed in 2006 by officials from Taos Pueblo, the State of New Mexico, and other interested water rights owners in the Taos area. The settlement act also helps resolve the non-Indian portion of Abeyta. The measure quantifies Taos Pueblo’s water rights and protects the interests of local acequias, the Town of Taos, and …

Salt Basin, Jerold Widdison, Stephanie Tsosie

Water Matters!

The Salt Basin of south-central New Mexico presents several problems of resource utilization. The basin is a large but little-known area—dry, inhospitable—but it has a sought-after supply of groundwater and perhaps a supply of natural gas and oil. In addition, the basin features vast stretches of grassland in an essentially intact natural environment. The“hows” and the “whethers” of using and conserving these resources have been vigorously argued for several years.

Water Trust Board, Joanne Hilton, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

In 2001, the New Mexico legislature passed the Water Project Finance Act. The stated purpose of the Water Project Finance Act is to provide a financing mechanism to promote water use efficiency, water resource conservation and protection, and fair distribution and allocation of water to all users. The Water Trust Board was created in the Act. Its purpose is to: 1) oversee and administer the Water Trust Fund and Water Project Fund; 2) review and recommend funding for qualifying water projects to the legislature; and 3)pursue additional funding opportunities.

Strategic Water Reserve, Brigette Buynak, Stephanie Tsosie

Water Matters!

The Strategic Water Reserve (Reserve) established in 2005 transforms New Mexico’s policies regarding river management. The Reserve is a pool of publicly held water rights dedicated to keeping New Mexico’s rivers flowing to meet the needs of river-dependent endangered species and to fulfill our water delivery obligations to other states. It is a tool for New Mexico to achieve sensible and sustainable water policies by balancing water use between cities, industry, agriculture, and the rivers of the state.

From Vacant Lots To Full Pantries: Urban Agriculture Programs And The American City, Jessica Owley, Tonya Lewis

Articles

No abstract provided.

Green Siting For Green Energy, Amy Wilson Morris, Jessica Owley, Emily Capello

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

From Vacant Lots To Full Pantries: Urban Agriculture Programs And The American City, Jessica Owley, Tonya Lewis

Journal Articles

This Article builds on efforts to promote urban agriculture and remove legal and practical obstacles to its development. Specifically, we explore concerns regarding land tenure. Urban agriculture development can be retarded by uncertainties in landownership and agriculturalists’ land rights. We explore property tools that could be helpful to urban agriculturalists (both farmers and gardeners). One thing we learned quickly in our research is that the challenges (and therefore the most helpful tools) vary greatly by place. For this reason, we present examples of urban agriculture efforts across the United States to demonstrate the varying challenges that jurisdictions face and to …