Land Use Law Commons^™

Corporate Scenarios: Drawing Lessons From History, Madison Condon

Seattle University Law Review

As corporations are increasingly pressed to reveal information about their exposure to climate-related risks, they are often asked to undertake and disclose the outcome of “scenario analysis.” In this exercise, corporations, including financial institutions, examine how their business would fare under different pathways the future may take. One oft-used scenario, for example, is the International Energy Agency’s “Net-Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Energy Sector.” This Essay presents a history of the use of scenarios as a corporate planning tool, particularly in the oil industry, arguing that it is key for understanding our present moment and the role of …

Dark Accounting Matter, Colleen Honigsberg

Seattle University Law Review

Physicists calculate that approximately 85% of the matter in the universe is composed of “dark matter” that “does not absorb, reflect, or emit electromagnetic radiation and is therefore difficult to detect.” The S&P 500 currently trades at a price-to-book value of 4.2, suggesting that book value accounts for less than 20% of the S&P 500’s market value. The remaining 80% appears nowhere in these firms’ balance sheets—it is invisible to contemporary accounting techniques and constitutes “dark accounting matter.”

Some “dark accounting matter” is composed of factors commonly described as components of “ESG.” Human capital, for example, is an intangible asset …

Company Districts, C.J. Suglia

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Special districts that are owned or controlled by private entities and act almost uniformly like a company town can be dubbed a “company district.” These special districts, similar to historical company towns, have autonomy over the districts, control the local government, and only have to answer to the state government. Historical company towns like Pullman, Illinois and Hershey, Pennsylvania had almost canonical command over the land within their boundaries. Company districts operate their business similar to a company town—in a city that the private entity controls, but do not have employees living on-site. Company districts benefit by being immune to …

The Reedy Creek Improvement District: A Comparative Analysis Underscoring The Problems In Hampering Special Districts, J. Patrick Moll

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In 2022, the Florida legislature passed a bill that removed the administration of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special district governing the Walt Disney World Resort. The bill replaced it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Governor Ron DeSantis hailed this legislation as a success in reigning in a corporation operating with unchecked and unprecedented levels of governmental authority. Since its inception, however, the replacement administration has contended with claims of ethical violations, inefficiency, and unconstitutional enactment. Before the repeal of the Walt Disney World special district, special districts themselves were not often present in the Nation’s everyday …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

How To Teach A Course On Land Use And Anti-Jewish Discrimination, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

In 2022, I was asked to teach a one-week mini-course within a broader course on "Structural Barriers and the Pursuit of Equity," a course focusing on various forms of structural discrimination. The course is typically taught by over a dozen professors from various parts of Touro University, each of whom teaches for a week on a different topic. I chose to teach on issues related to land use law (because my scholarship focuses on that area) and in particular how land use law has been used by and against traditionally observant Jews (because that is the religious tradition I am …

Free Movement Rights And The American City, Ryan Stoa

FIU Law Review

American cities are facing an inflection point. Widespread dissatisfaction with urban planning outcomes is making land use and transportation policies (such as congestion pricing) a mainstream topic of debate. Suburban sprawl and housing shortages are moving urban populations into the periphery, commuting times (and associated mental health problems) are increasing, and pedestrian and cyclist deaths caused by vehicles are at all-time highs. American cities that were largely planned and built in the twentieth century based on assumptions that we now know are flawed are not meeting the needs of their residents, and urban planners are making changes to reshape urban …

The Effectiveness Of The Minnesota Buffer Law And Its Impacts On People, Ellen P. Isakson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

In January 2015, the then-governor of Minnesota Mark Dayton announced new legislation that would require 50-foot vegetation buffers along all waterways in Minnesota; this legislation would come to be known as the Minnesota buffer law, exact requirements being “perennial vegetative buffers of up to 50 feet along lakes, rivers, and streams and buffers of 16.5 feet along ditches” (Albert, 2017; MN Board of Water and Soil Resources [MN BWSR] 4 ). A buffer in the context of vegetation and natural resource management is a strip of vegetation around a body of water “designed to intercept stormwater runoff and minimize soil …

The Law Of Energy Abundance, Alexandra B. Klass, Matthew Appel

Articles

For the first time in decades, electricity demand in the United States is increasing due to the growth of data centers to power artificial intelligence, new manufacturing hubs, and transportation electrification. At the same time, coalfired power plants have been closing in response to competition from lower cost natural gas and renewable energy. Clean energy is being rapidly deployed to replace fossil fuels but not quickly enough to address concerns about demand growth and grid reliability. Accordingly, there is a growing imbalance between electricity supply and demand in many regions of the country that threatens to increase electricity prices and …

The Employees’ Dilemma: Balancing Internal Reporting, Whistleblowing, And Insider Trading Risks, Geeyoung Min

Seattle University Law Review

The Essay examines how recent developments in insider trading regulations and whistleblower reward programs can lead to unintended and counterproductive results of discouraging employees from using internal reporting channels within corporate compliance programs. While the presence of a robust and well-functioning corporate compliance program is a critical factor both in mitigating the level of public enforcement actions against companies and in protecting corporate managers from liability in private litigation, these programs often provide little incentive for employees to report potential misconduct internally.

Corporate compliance programs are designed to promote the upward information flow within the company, which is essential for …

Understanding The Big Three’S Wavering Support Of Environmental And Social Shareholder Proposals, Jeff Schwartz, Jefferson Jensen

Seattle University Law Review

Because of their substantial equity portfolios, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street (the Big 3) are central players in corporate governance. It is, therefore, critical to understand how they vote. One puzzle is that their support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social matters appears to waiver. In 2020, for instance, BlackRock supported 11.1% of environmental proposals at S&P 500 firms. In 2021, it seemingly reversed course, supporting 55.2%. It then flipped again, supporting 32.1% in 2022. Such statistics suggest that the Big 3 are constantly changing their views on these topics. This Article seeks to better understand whether this is …

How The Antidiscrimination Law Of Commercial Transactions Really Works, Helen Norton

Seattle University Law Review

A variety of businesses now cite 303 Creative when seeking First Amendment protection for their refusal to serve certain customers based on those customers’ protected class status. How this litigation will play out remains to be seen. But future courts need not, and should not, repeat the 303 Creative Court’s misunderstanding of how the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions actually works.

Part I of this Essay explains the Court’s longstanding understanding of the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions, and then describes the Court’s failure to engage with this precedent in 303 Creative. Part II then identifies the 303 Creative decision’s …

Community Redevelopment Agencies' (Cras) Perceptions Of The Legal, Ethical, Economic, And Financial Impacts On Florida's Redevelopment Since The Passage Of Florida House Bill 9 In 2019, Laurel L. Richmond

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This qualitative study explores the legal, ethical, economic, and financial impacts on Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) following the passage of Florida House Bill (HB) 9 in 2019 by interviewing administrators and attorneys of the oldest Florida CRAs. CRAs are dependent special districts, funded by tax increment financing (TIF), and created to address areas deemed slum, blighted, or facing a shortage of affordable housing. HB 9 intended to address transparency and accountability issues and restore CRA operations and spending back to the original purpose, as authorized by Florida Statute 169.

The findings are timely and novel, given it has been five …

The Legal Debate: Corner Crossing And Public Land Access, Kaden Leverenz

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Is it legal to cross from one corner of public land to an adjacent corner of public land across checkerboarded landscapes in the American West? This question regarding corner crossing has become one of the most prominent and unresolved issues in public land access. Although federal courts in Iron Bar Holdings v. Cape (2025) confirmed corner crossing, without touching or damaging private land, does not constitute trespass, the legal landscape still remains unsettled. Public land users play a significant role in shaping the direction of this issue, as demonstrated by past public mobilizations against large-scale land sell-offs. Therefore, this paper …

Zoning The Subsurface, Hannah Jacobs Wiseman, Anne Menefee, Seth Blumsack, Michael Helbing

Faculty Scholarship

The vast rock formations underlying the United States stand at an important Demsetzian turning point, at which the externalities of inadequately defined property rights justify the costs of solidifying formal property rights for this resource. This need arises from the growing scarcity of pore space (tiny openings) in subsurface rocks—property that is critical to address climate change. Efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate impacts require large-scale underground storage of carbon dioxide, water, and energy within the pore space of subsurface reservoirs. The subsurface will also continue to house millions of miles of pipelines, hundreds of thousands of waste disposal …

Rupture In The Legal Hierarchy: Normative Conflicts And The Subversion Of Agrarian Principles In Indonesia’S Omnibus Law, Waldus Situmorang, Mella Ismelina F. R., Rasji Rasji

Indonesia Law Review

This article examines the normative conflict between Law No. 6 of 2023 on the Establishment of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law on Job Creation and the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA), specifically within the land law cluster. Using a normative approach and the theory of derogation, the article identifies three core areas of legal inconsistency: (1) the strengthening of Land Management Rights (Hak Pengelolaan), (2) foreign ownership of apartment units, and (3) the granting of land rights in aboveground and underground spaces. These legal inconsistencies not only create normative dualism but also generate legal uncertainty and threaten the principle of …

Kedudukan Surat Keterangan Riwayat Tanah (Skt) Sebagai Alas Hak Kepemilikan Dan Penguasaan Tanah Yang Dikeluarkan Pada Saat Status Sengketa (Studi Putusan Mahkamahagung Nomor 1606 K/Pdt/2022), Helena Albright T Sitompul

Indonesian Notary

Artikel ini membahas mengenai kedudukan Surat Keterangan Riwayat Tanah (SKT) yang dijadikan sebagai bukti kepemilikan dan bukti hak dalam melakukan penguasaan atas tanah yang menjadi objek sengketa dalam Putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 1606/K/Pdt/2022. Pokok permasalahan dalam artikel ini adalah perihal SKT yang menjadi alas hak dalam menguasai tanah, ternyata dikeluarkan pada saat telah terjadi sengketa diatasnya. Penulisan artikel ini dilakukan denganmetode penelitian hukum doktrinal dengan tipologi penelitian preskriptif analisis, jenis data berupa data sekunder, dengan alat pengumpulan studi dokumen, serta analisis dilakukan secara kualitatif. Hasil peneliDan menunjukkan, bahwa SKT bukanlah bukti kepemilikan atas tanah, dan apabila merujuk pada Pasal 97 …

Perjanjian Kawin Yang Dibuat Di Hadapan Notaris Namun Tidak Didaftarkan Ke Dukcapil Terkait Dengan Pihak Ketiga (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Tinggi Semarang Nomor 50/Pdt/2021/Pt Smg), Chantiqa Dwi Ayudhia C

Indonesian Notary

Perjanjian Kawin yang dibuat pada saat atau sebelum perkawinan oleh calon pasangan suami istri mulai berlaku sejak perkawinan dilangsungkan dan disahkan pegawai pencatat perkawinan sebagaimana diatur dalam Pasal 29 ayat 1 UU Perkawinan Tahun 1974. Pendaftaran tersebut dimaksudkan sebagai bentuk pemenuhan syarat publisitas agar pihak ketiga dapat tunduk ke dalam isi perjanjian kawin yang dibuat. Penelitian ini menganalisis terkait Akta Perjanjian Kawin yang dijadikan dasar seorang istri melakukan perbuatan jual beli sepihak tanpa sepengetahuan dan tanpa persetujuan suaminya terhadap aset SHM 2233/Rejosari yang diperoleh sepanjang perkawinan kepada pihak ketiga dalam kasus Putusan Pengadilan Tinggi Semarang nomor 50/PDT/2021/PT Smg namun faktanya …

Analisis Pelampauan Jangka Waktu Perjanjian Sewa Menyewa Yang Dibuat Berdasarkan Perjanjian Bangun Guna Serah Sebagai Bentuk Pemanfaatan Aset Daerah, Syafa Nissa Amanda

Indonesian Notary

Perjanjian sekunder atau perjanjian yang dibuat berdasarkan perjanjian induk atau utama harus sejalan dan tidak bertentangan satu sama lain. Suatu perjanjian dikatakan sah apabila memenuhi syarat sah perjanjian yang tertuang dalam Pasal 1320 Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata (“KUHPerdata”). Penelitian ini membahas mengenai bagaimana pengaturan dan penerapan perjanjian kerjasama Bangun Guna Serah dan juga membahas bagaimana kedudukan perjanjian sewa menyewa yang dibuat berdasarkan perjanjian Kerjasama Bangun Guna Serah. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penilitian doktrinal, dengan tipe penelitian eksplanatoris. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang dilakukan, didapatkan simpulan bahwa ketentuan pelaksanaan Bangun Guna Serah atas aset milik pemerintah daerah telah diatur di beberapa ketentuan …

Penerapan Pp No. 35 Tahun 2023 Mengenai Kewajiban Yang Dilematis Bagi Notaris Melaporkan Perjanjian Pengikatan Jual Beli Kepada Badan Pendapatan Daerah, Saarah Faadhilah

Indonesian Notary

Peraturan Pemerintah No. 35 Tahun 2023 tentang Ketentuan Umum Pajak Daerah dan Retribusi Daerah Pasal 60 ayat (1) huruf b PP No. 35 tahun 2023 tersebut, notaris wajib untuk melaporkan perjanjian pengikatan jual beli kepada Kepala Daerah, namun, pada pelaksanaannya dalam Pasal 16 ayat (1) huruf f Undang-Undang Jabatan Notaris notaris wajib untuk menjaga kerahasiaan isi akta. Hal tersebut, menimbulkan adanya disharmonisasi hukum. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bentuk penerapan Peraturan Pemerintah No. 35 tahun 2023 tentang Ketentuan Umum Pajak Daerah dan Retribusi Daerah terhadap kewajiban pelaporan Perjanjian Pengikatan Jual kepada Badan Pendapatan Daerah karena terdapat konsekuensi yang diterima notaris …