T is for Takings
Planning historian Laurence C. Gerckens, FAICP, provides a short overview of key American “takings” law cases.
Land Use Law
An understanding of basic land use law principles is essential to the job of the planner — and planning commissioner.
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Z is for Zoning
Planning historian Laurence Gerckens provides an overview of the origins of zoning in America.
McMansions & the Geometry of Zoning
An overview of some of the regulatory approaches to dealing with McMansions, including a look at the design review process implemented in Stonington, Connecticut.
A Question of Balance
Planner and Planning Commissioners Journal columnist Greg Dale explores the question of how to balance community needs and individual property rights.
Taking Aim at Takings Claims
Takings claims can create enormous potential liability for local governments. Respected land use lawyer and planner Dwight Merriam provides an overview of basic takings principles, and addresses questions planning commissioners often have.
The Supreme Court’s Kelo Decision: Good News or Bad News for Downtowns?
Can local government take private property away from its citizens and develop it for something that will generate more tax revenue? On June 23, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court said “yes.”
Overlay Zoning to Protect Surface Waters
Regulating land use practices near streams can significantly reduce the run-off of sediment and other pollutants. How a system of “overlay zones” can help protect stream corridors, lakeshores, and watersheds.
How Far is Too Far?
Attorney John Ronayne provides a primer on how courts approach “takings” cases.
Zoning Adult Entertainment Businesses
Attorney Terence Boga reviews the basic legal principles involved in zoning for adult businesses.
Basics of Variances
Attorney Robert Widner offers a primer on the basics of zoning variances.
Making Use of Overlay Zones
Overlay zones can provide increased flexibility in local zoning codes. Attorney and planner Elizabeth Garvin covers the basics of using overlay zones.
Zoning Ordinances and “Free Speech”
Interested in controlling signs and billboards? Thinking about an ordinance regulating adult entertainment? Law professor Alan Weinstein provides a planning law primer on the First Amendment’s free speech clause and its relationship to local zoning regulation.
Procedural Due Process in Practice
No person shall be deprived of property “without due process of law.” A primer on what this Constitutional requirement means for the process planning commissions and zoning boards need to follow in handling land use permit applications.
