Law of the Land: Real Estate & Property Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Real Estate & Property Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Real Estate & Property Law

Law of the Land

Forum for the discussion of current laws, policies and decisions that affect the use of land. Highlights new court decisions, new state and federal laws, and actions at the local government level that guide and/or impact land use and community development.
By atricia Salkin

Post Frequency: 4.4/day

Last Entry: October 28, 2020 at 16:28:04

Where State Statute Does Not Require Board to Make Factual Findings it was an Error for the Trial Court to So Mandate

Posted on June 21, 2008
The petitioner simultaneously applied to the local legislative body for a rezoning of a portion of its property from residential to business and for a special use permit to allow for the construction of 16 individual units of housing for seniors since, pursuant to the applicable zoning, senior citizen housing was only permitted on property [...

DOJ Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on ADA, Including Standards for Accessible Design

Posted on June 20, 2008
According to the DOJ website, On Friday, May 30, 2008, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey signed proposed regulations to revise the Department?s ADA regulations, including its ADA Standards for Accessible Design. On Tuesday, June 17, 2008, the proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register...

U.S. DOJ RLUIPA Training

Posted on June 19, 2008
Yesterday, I attended a training offered by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Boston, MA. Part of the ?First Freedom Project,? the seminar was one of a series of similar workshops offered around the country over the past year to highlight the Department?s role in enforcing federal laws designed to [...

Challenge to Construction of Home Close to Shoreline Time-Barred

Posted on June 19, 2008
The petitioners, owners of property adjacent to the lakefront property owned by respondents, the issuance of a building permit to respondents to permit the construction of a home 28 feet from the shoreline on one side and 35 feet from the shoreline on the other side, rather than the required 100 feet setback...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Interpretation of Whether the Use of Property for ?Bottled Water and Related Uses? Includes the Use of Water for Filling Swimming Pools Rests with the ZBA

Posted on June 18, 2008
Following the approval by the planning board of a site plan and special use permit allowing for the collection and hauling away by truck of 5,800 gallons of water twice daily from a spring on land owned by the respondents, nearby neighbors who are members of a community association, petitioned the court to annul the [...

Gender Had Nothing to Do with Denial of Property Owner?s Request to Have Her Land Included in Rezoned Area

Posted on June 17, 2008
In this federal civil rights suit, alleging both a substantive due process claim and a gender-based equal protection claim, the property owner alleged that her constitutional rights were violated when her property was excluded from a new mixed-use development zone in 2003...

Professor Charles Haar to Deliver Keynote Address at August ALI-ABA Land Use Institute in Boston, MA

Posted on June 17, 2008
The 24th Annual ALI-ABA Land Use Institute returns to Boston, MA on August 13-16, 2008 with what promises to provide comprehensive legal analysis on a litany of cutting edge and recurring issues facing land use practitioners who represent all stakeholders in the planning and zoning arena...

MA Supreme Court Holds Town Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies in Challenging State Affordable Housing Inventory

Posted on June 16, 2008
The State of Massachusetts enacted ?The Comprehensive Permit Act? (G.L. c. 40B) for the purpose of ensuring a supply of affordable housing by requiring, among other things, that each municipality devote ten percent of its housing units to low or moderate income housing...

Missouri Appeals Court Finds No Standing Where Petitioners Fail to Provide Specific Details as to Injury

Posted on June 15, 2008
A Missouri Appeals Court held that citizens lacked standing to challenge the City?s approval of a rezoning application because the citizens failed to demonstrate that the City?s decision will have a direct and substantial impact on their personal or property rights or interests more directly and distinctly than the general public...

Vermont Supreme Court Explains Rule to Determine Whether Commonly Owned Lots Separated by Private Road Constitute a Single Parcel

Posted on June 14, 2008
A property owner applied for a permit to subdivide a 2.92-acre lot into two parcels. The applicant also owned a .05-acre lot abutting a pond, that was separated from the larger ?main? lot by a private road used to service the parcels and other camps in the area...

California Voters Defeat Takings Ballot Measure

Posted on June 13, 2008
The following news item is excerpted from the American Planning Association?s ?APA Advocate? of June 13, 2008: California voters overwhelmingly defeated Proposition 98, on June 3 by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent. Voters instead threw support behind Proposition 99...

EPA to Conduct Agency-Wide Environmental Justice (EJ) Review in FY 2009

Posted on June 13, 2008
EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson addressed the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) this week and announced a June 9, 2008 memo sent to senior agency managers ordering agency officials to conduct a first-time review of all programs and policies to ensure that they effectively address EJ concerns...

4th Circuit Court of Appeals Holds that Planning Commission May Limit Public Discussion to Certain Items and May Impose Civility Requirements Without Violating First Amendment

Posted on June 12, 2008
The plaintiff, Steinburg, attended a public meeting of the Chesterfield County Planning Commission in 2005. One of the agenda items originally scheduled was a developer?s request that the Commission change the zoning ordinance to permit development of homes with front-facing, rather than side-facing, garages...

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Finds Wind Turbines Could Interfere with Airport Radar

Posted on June 11, 2008
In an administrative law case, Clark County, Nevada challenged a determination of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that found that the siting of 83 wind turbines on federal land atop a mountain located 10 miles from a proposed new airport (targeted for operation in 2017) would not exceed the federal obstruction standards, would not have [...

21ST Century Land Development Code Now Available

Posted on June 10, 2008
Just published by the American Planning Association, 21st Century Land Development Code is a unique complete planning and law model code integrating traditional Euclidean zoning with the current movements promoting green codes, new urbanism, and smart growth...

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Finds that Eleventh Amendment Applies to Takings Claims

Posted on June 09, 2008
The California focused Land Use Law Blog maintained by Abbott & Kinderman had a recent posting posting by Cori Badgley, Esq. discussing a recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case involving the Eleventh Amendment and takings where the Court dismissed the lawsuit against the Governor of Montana on the grounds that he was immune from [...

New Research Center Launched ? Constitutional Accountability Center

Posted on June 08, 2008
The Washington, D.C. based Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) was launched last week with a panel discussion at the National Press Club. According to its press release, this progressive think tank and law firm grows out of the work of the Community Rights Counsel (CRC)...

Petitioner Lacks Standing Where Alleged Injuries Result from Lack of Proactive Town Action That Could Increase the Value of Petitioner?s Property

Posted on June 08, 2008
Standing to challenge decisions of planning and zoning boards and local legislative bodies can be a procedural roadblock to plaintiffs who are hoping for their ?day in court.? Further, in the land use context, many states, such as New York, have different rules for standing depending upon whether a land use action is being challenged [...

Planning Board Powerless to Deny Subdivision Based on Lot Size After ZBA Extended Variance

Posted on June 07, 2008
Following the purchase of a 32,000 square foot parcel of property, the petitioner sought and obtained a variance from the zoning board of appeals to subdivide the parcel into two 16,000 square foot lots since the zoning required a 20,000 square foot minimum lot size...

New Hampshire Supreme Court Rules that Enforcement Statute Does Not Provide that Each Day of Violation Constitutes a Separate Offense

Posted on June 06, 2008
A property owner was cited for violating a zoning ordinance. She failed to appear at the hearing, where based upon evidence presented at the hearing, she received notification that she had violated the Town?s zoning and building ordinances for constructing a shed on her property without the proper site plan review and survey or certificate...

Limiting Dogs as Pets to No More Than Six at Any One Single-Family Residence Upheld

Posted on June 05, 2008
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court determined that a Township ordinance regulating the maximum number of domestic pets that can be kept as an accessory use is within the municipality?s general authority to promote the health, safety and welfare of the community...

Homeowner Permitted to Operate a Haunted House in Residential District to Raise Money for Charity

Posted on June 04, 2008
The Georgia Supreme Court let stand the decision below which dismissed the City?s request for injunctive relief to prevent the homeowner from operating a haunted house to raise money for charity on his property, since by the time the case got to the Court to review, the homeowner had ceased the operation...

Judge Not Required to Recuse Himself on Boundary Dispute Where He Participated in a Rezoning Request of the Subject Property 7 Years Earlier As Planning Commissioner

Posted on June 03, 2008
On the first day of a trial to resolve a boundary dispute, the presiding judge informed the parties that when he was the county attorney he had been ?consulted about a boundary line issue? related to the property of one of the litigants, and he stated that he had ?no recollection with whom [he had] [...

CT Supreme Court Upholds Town?s Authority to Enact Locational Restrictions for Sexually Oriented Businesses

Posted on June 02, 2008
The Town of Berlin enacted a Sexually Oriented Business Ordinance that, among other things, included locational restrictions. The Town determined that the plaintiff, who wanted to operate a retail business on property zoned for retail use, for the purpose of selling ?lingerie, club wear, women?s shoes, lotions, oils, greeting cards, gag gifts, as well as [...

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Extends Williamson County Ripeness Requirements to First Amendment Land Use Claims

Posted on June 01, 2008
The Plaintiffs, owners of two contiguous lots, submitted an application and a preliminary plan to subdivide the lots into three parcels to facilitate the construction of a restaurant, nightclub, and billboard on each respective proposed parcel. The Office of Planning and Development recommended conditional approval of the subdivision subject to terms that the Plaintiff agreed [...

American Bar Association to Consider Model Land Development Act in August

Posted on May 31, 2008
Under the leadership of Edward J. Sullivan, immediate past chair of the ABA State and Local Government Law Section, and a member of the Portland, Oregon, firm of Garvey Schubert Barer, the State and Local Government Law Section and the Administrative Law Section created a joint task force to focus on developing fair procedures for [...

CA Appeals Court Says Applicant May Not Depose Commission Members or Staff

Posted on May 30, 2008
Sometimes allegations of unethical conduct in land use decision making relate to alleged improper motivation on the part of board members. Where the motivation is not specifically verbalized on the record, parties may have a difficult, if not impossible, time proving the allegation...

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Uphold Adult Business Regulation but Not Award of Attorney?s Fees to Non-Government Party

Posted on May 29, 2008
After learning that a sexually oriented business was planning to locate in the downtown, the City and various private citizens? groups (e.g., Michigan Decency Action Council, Inc.) mobilized and pressed the City for a regulatory ordinance. When the city council expressed reluctance because of the potential costs of defending the ordinance against litigation, the various [...

Maine Supreme Court Holds that Roads Must Meet Town Standards

Posted on May 28, 2008
As part of its proposal to subdivide property in the town, Jade Realty planned to build an access road to a subdivision. The proposed access road would dead-end into an existing public road, Boyce Road, forming a capital letter “T” intersection...

Seattle Mayor Issues Executive Order on Inclusive Outreach and Public Engagement

Posted on May 27, 2008
Last month, Seattle Mayor Gregory Nickels issued Executive Order 05-08 directing City departments to perform outreach and public engagement in a manner that reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of the City. The Order recognizes that a healthy democracy is one that engages and takes into account the racial, cultural and socio-economic complexities of the [...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

NEIGHBOR FLOODING YOUR LAND? COURT MUST USE BALANCING TEST TO DETERMINE IF ITâ€™S A NUISANCE.
Topic: Land Use, Trespassing, Private Nuisance The Appeals Court o...

Enlarging Time to Appeal Land Use Decisions in the Interests of Justice
In Gregory v. Borough of Avalon, the Appellate Division evaluated ...

City to issue its position on land seizure
Raymond Papperman, Shareholder and member of Stark & Stark's Real ...

Neighbor Flooding your Land?
Topic: Land Use, Trespassing, Private Nuisance The Appeals Court o...

2007 Land Use Update
Gary Forshner will be speaking at New Jersey ICLE's "2007 Land Use...