Land use law

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We’ve spent a good portion of the last two weeks at conferences discussing the regulatory takings case now pending at the U.S. Supreme Court, Murr v. Wisconsin, No. 15-214.

The biggest question most had was why the Court had not scheduled oral arguments. There was a lot of speculation and gossip about the Chief Justice perhaps holding off on OA because the Court was one Justice short. Recall that cert was granted, but shortly thereafter Justice Scalia died, leading to speculation that there was not a clear five-Justice consensus for how to analyze the issues on the eight-Justice Court. But no concrete answers.  

Well, maybe they heard all the chatter over at 1 First Street NE, because on Friday, the Court issued this argument calendar, and lo and behold, look what’s on calendar for Monday, March 20, 2017.

The questions remain unanswered: Will the Court have …

Continue Reading Supreme Court (Finally) Sets Arguments In Reg Takings Denominator Case (Murr v. Wisconsin)

When we previewed the 2017 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference while we were getting buried in the snow a couple of weeks ago, we promised there would be better weather in San Diego than much of the country was then experiencing. As you can see, we delivered.

We — and by “we” I mean the faculty, the ALI-CLE staff, and the record number of attendees who came to San Diego — also delivered on a really great conference. See our posts on several of the presentations here, here, here, and here for a flavor.

We also announced that the date and location for the 2018 Conference has been set, and the hotel and site have been booked:

2018 ALI-CLE
Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference
Francis Marion Hotel
Charleston, South Carolina
January 25-27, 2018

Stay tuned for details. Send your ideas for…

Continue Reading 2017 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain Conference Wrap, 2018 Venue Announcement

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Here are the links and references to the cases we spoke about today at our opening session on the national trends in eminent domain law at the 2017 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference in San Diego. 

We again have a record attendance, and a good number of new attendees. If you aren’t here now, we’re sorry you didn’t make it. But fear not: ALI-CLE has already set the date and location for the 2018 Conference: save the date on your calendars now — January 25-27, 2018, Charleston, South Carolina, at the Francis Marion Hotel. 

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Continue Reading Day 1, 2017 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain And Land Valuation Litigation Conference, San Diego

HSBA 2017 Land Use Conference

To supplement your written materials for the 2017 Hawaii Land Use Conference, here are the decisions and other materials which we spoke about this morning at the 2017 Hawaii Land Use Conference:  

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Continue Reading Notes And Links From Today’s Hawaii Land Use Conference Session On Reg Takings

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After the Hawaii Supreme Court decided GATRI v. Blane, 962 P.2d 367 (Haw. 1998) one big question remained.

In GATRI, the court held that in the coastal zone, a county Community Plan (also known as a “General Plan” in some counties) is a binding land use regulation, and thus has the force and effect of law. (Outside the coastal zone, the CP/GP’s don’t actually control any land uses, and are general statements of long-term planning goals. The zoning, and the zoning alone, regulates the uses of land.)

But the state legislature in the Coastal Zone Management Act mandated a different result in the coastal zone and there, the planning also controls land use, as the court held in GATRI. Thus, in order to develop property in the coastal zone in accordance with the applicable zoning, the applicable CP/GP must also permit the use. This is know as “plan-zone consistency,” and…

Continue Reading Hawaii Supreme Court Oral Arguments In Lucas “Economically Beneficial Use” Taking Case

You take the uptown subway, the 1 train, destination the Bronx — the IRT for those of you who still refer to New York City’s subway lines that way — and exit at the 103rd Street Station, just before you cross the unofficial border to Harlem. Walking north on Broadway for a couple of blocks, turning on West 105th Street west towards the Hudson, crossing West End Avenue. 

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This is the formerly rural part of the city now known as the Upper West Side, then known as Bloomingdale. The Dutch, who originally named it that back when this was all New Amsterdam, didn’t spell it that way, of course. They wrote Bloemendael, because it reminded them of a flower growing area in Holland. Not too many flowers to be found here these days, unless you continue on towards Riverside Park. 

A quarter of a block down on your right…

Continue Reading Takings Pilgrimage, Upper West Side Edition

Heads up for a case to watch being argued next week in the Hawaii Supreme Court.

This is a regulatory takings case that’s been up to the Hawaii appellate courts before (see here). In that opinion, the court of appeals correctly held that a property owner raising a regulatory takings case has no obligation to change the law to ripen her claims. [Note: we filed an amicus brief in that appeal in support of the property owner.] The court vacated the trial court’s dismissal, and remanded the case for trial.

The backstory to that case is long and complex.It involves beachfront property, the relationship between planning and zoning, and what exactly “economically beneficial use” means under the U.S. Supreme Court’s Lucas test for wipeout takings, especially in the context of what instructions that juries are given. [Another note: we represented a neighboring property owner in a similar case that…

Continue Reading HAWSCT Considering Wipeout Regulatory Takings: What Is An Economically Beneficial Use?

Here’s what we’re reading today:

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Continue Reading Monday Reading: Raisin Redux, Beach Appeal Dismissal, Zoning, And More

HSBA 2017 Land Use Conference

Registration is now open for the 2017 Hawaii Land Use Conference, presented by the Hawaii State Bar Association and the University of Hawaii Law School, at the downtown Honolulu YWCA’s Fuller Hall on January 19-20, 2017. “This 2 day conference is a must attend for any attorney or professional whose practice involves land use and development,” as the registration web site says (we agree).  

Topics include the latest in Transit-Oriented Development, the Thirty Meter Telescope, GMO (including the recent rulings from the Ninth Circuit), and the topic we’ll be presenting, “Takings: Regulatory and Physical.”

The final agenda has not yet been released, but if experience is any guide, Planning Chair Professor David Callies will put together two days of timely topics, presented by distinguished faculty. 

And the cost can’t be beat: $200 for members of the Real Property and Financial Services Section and government lawyers, $300…

Continue Reading 2017 Hawaii Land Use Law Conference, January 19-20, 2017