Is Your Municipality Prepared to Handle Controversial Zoning Decisions?
Preparing in advance is very helpful in successfully navigating controversial zoning requests. Some pointers from attorney Ron Richards.
Issues in Land Use Law & Zoning
Experienced land use lawyers provide primers on a wide range of legal issues that often face local planning commissions.
Most Recent Articles
A Quick Look at Downzoning
Attorney Daniel Shapiro provides a brief overview of downzoning, examining some of the pluses and minuses, and noting some legal issues to keep an eye out for.
Vested Rights
What happens when a developer files for a building permit or submits a subdivision application — and the local government then changes its ordinance in a way that would prohibit the project as proposed? A look at the complex issue of “vested rights.”
Hitting the Restart Button
With the start of an economic recovery in much of the country, developers in many communities face the question of how to restart projects that have lied fallow or failed as a result of the great recession. A look at some of the legal issues involved.
Understanding Spot Zoning
Do you know it when you see it? A look at how to spot “spot zoning” situations, and consideration of the importance of the comprehensive plan in evaluating spot zoning.
Nonconformities: Dealing With Uses, Part 2
If your community wants a more flexible approach to nonconformities, there are several ways to accommodate them, as Mark White discusses in the second part of his article.
Nonconformities: Dealing With Uses, Part 1
Attorney and planner Mark White provides an overview of how communities can best deal with nonconforming uses, in the first of a two-part article.
Open Meeting Laws – Part 2: Avoiding Open Meeting Law Violations
Attorney Alan C. Weinstein provides an overview of how to avoid violating Open Meetings laws — including situations that are particularly troublesome: meetings in executive session, site-visits, “informal” meetings with staff, and electronic communications.
Open Meeting Laws – Part 1: An Overview
An introduction to the goals and structure of open meeting laws — including a look at the key question: what constitutes a “meeting”?
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.
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.
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.
