Commercial Real Estate › Zoning, Planning & Land Use

Read Commercial Real Estate Law updates, news, and legal commentary from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 25, 2013

Barbara Knoflach, CEO of SEB Asset Management, on the rise of cross-border real estate investment
Ventas' Debra Cafaro on why the Health Care asset class is well positioned in today's economy
Jeffrey DeBoer on the intersection of Washington and commercial real estate
Navigating the Winds of Change in Commercial Real Estate
California Commercial Building Owners Must Disclose Energy Usage of the Building During Sale, Lease or Financing after July 1, 2013
Action Required by California Commercial Landlords: New California Law Goes Into Effect July 1, 2013, Requiring Accessibility Disclosures in Commercial Leases
Transbay Tower Groundbreaking
Bisnow/Allen Matkins - LA Property Management - Patrick Lacey, Property Management Associates
Bisnow/Allen Matkins - LA Property Management - Kevin Kirn, Health Care REIT, Inc.
Bisnow/Allen Matkins - LA Property Management - John Fucci, Kilroy Realty
Bisnow/Allen Matkins - LA Property Management - Charlie Hobey, Equity Office
Bisnow/Allen Matkins - LA Property Management - Brian Plymell, Hines
Which environmental regs may impact your development projects?
California Commercial Real Estate Forecast - Industrial & Multifamily Remain the Bright Spot in the Winter 2013 Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Survey Results
California Commercial Real Estate Forecast - Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Winter 2013 Survey Reveals Dip in Developer Sentiment
California Commercial Real Estate Forecast - Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Survey Results Reveal Tension Between Developer Sentiment & Action
Former Congressman Steve Bartlett Joins the LEVICK Team
Taking it Seriously: Unusual Lease Violations in Virginia
Understand both sides' interests to get best results for your clients
"Bisnow/Allen Matkins LA Industrial and State of the Ports - " Mark Payne

Daishowa-Marubeni: A Tree Fell In The Forest And The SCC Caught It!

by Anne Calverley, Jehad Haymour, Sophie Virji | Dentons on 5/24/2013

In Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd. v. The Queen, 2013 SCC 29, Justice Rothstein marries tax philosophy and tax practice by asking and answering the question: If a tree falls in the forest and you are not around to...more

Commercial and Residential Developers, Builders and Landlords Face New Storm Water Regulations

by Kathryn Horning | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 5/22/2013

On May 8, 2013, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board approved a new municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit that will have far-reaching impacts on both new development projects and existing facilities...more

Massachusetts Smart Growth Zoning Reform Bill On Fast Track to Passage?

by Richard Vetstein on 5/20/2013

58 Legislators Pushing Comprehensive Zoning Reform Bill “Inclusionary Zoning” Provision May Expand Controversial 40B Law With “Smart Growth” advocates strongly behind them, a cadre of Beacon Hill lawmakers are pushing a...more

Temporary Regulatory Takings Do Exist in California!

by Katrina Diaz, Bernadette Duran-Brown, Brad Kuhn | Nossaman LLP on 5/17/2013

Given the maze of procedural and substantive hurdles involved, property owners rarely succeed with regulatory takings claims. Even when owners do win, it is yet more uncommon for courts to award damages, instead allowing the...more

Alabama CON Review Board Update - May 2013

by Jennifer Clark, James Henry, Kristen A. Larremore, Colin H. Luke, Carey B. McRae | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 5/17/2013

In this update: - I. Informational Purposes Only - II. Certificate of Need Program - III. Reviewability Determinations and Pending Reviewability Determinations - IV. Declaratory Ruling Request...more

The EPA Reaches Back in Time: Appeals Court Allows Government to Veto 404 Permits Issued Years Earlier

by James Potter | Nexsen Pruet, PLLC on 5/16/2013

Both public and private landowners have to obtain Section 404 discharge permits for the discharge of dredged materials from navigable waters. The Army Corps of Engineers is the permitting authority for the Section 404...more

New Stormwater Fees in Maryland

by Matthew Kimball | Niles, Barton & Wilmer, LLP on 5/14/2013

During the 2012 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly passed HB 987, a bill which mandated that the ten separate EPA-licensed storm sewer system (“MS4”) jurisdictions in Maryland (Baltimore City and nine...more

Ahhh…Spring

by Barbara Darkes | McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 5/10/2013

With Spring comes the emergence of many things, including reopening of decks, porches, sidewalk cafés, patios and other outdoor seating options. It’s a lovely idea to have music or other entertainment in these areas, whether...more

Boston Joins the Building Disclosure Bandwagon: Ordinance Will Require Reporting in 2014

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 5/10/2013

On May 8, the Boston City Council approved an ordinance requiring building owners to report annual energy and water use. The final ordinance is slightly different from the one about which we posted in February. Highlights...more

Towards Not Reinventing The CEQA Wheel: Resources Agency Adopts New CEQA Guidelines For Streamlined Review of Urban Infill...

by Arthur F. Coon, Matthew Henderson | Miller Starr Regalia on 5/9/2013

Repetitive CEQA review and analysis is expensive, unnecessary, unproductive, and inimical to the goals of certainty and finality in the environmental review process. In 2011, to address these concerns in the infill...more

New Laws in Virginia For The Construction and Development Industries

by Chandra Lantz on 5/9/2013

Virginia has several new laws coming on-line beginning July 1, 2013 that will impact the construction and development industries. Tighter restrictions on mechanic's liens, new eminent domain payment standards, transportation...more

New Jersey Takes Emergency Action To Speed Rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy

by Barbara Casey, Ronald Varnum, Harry Weiss | Ballard Spahr LLP on 5/7/2013

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) took emergency action to reduce approval backlogs and to make it easier for those seeking to rebuild in wake of Hurricane Sandy to obtain regulatory approvals by...more

Maryland to Impose New Stormwater Remediation Fee; Virginia Enacts Congestion Relief Fee

by Roberto Garcia | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 5/6/2013

Lawmakers in Maryland and Virginia have approved the imposition of certain new fees on property owners in various jurisdictions. Maryland property owners in nine counties and one city face the imposition of a Stormwater...more

Rogers Towers: City Approves Partial Mobility Fee Waiver

by Wyman Duggan | Rogers Towers on 5/3/2013

The City of Jacksonville has enacted Ordinance 2013-94-E, granting a partial waiver of mobility fees for 18 months. The ordinance applies to both residential (single family and multifamily; existing lots and new development)...more

Site Assembly

by Hopkins & Carley on 5/2/2013

The “good old days” of formal redevelopment are over. Real estate developers no longer can negotiate to assemble development sites under the threat of condemnation. Silicon Valley developers now face serious challenges in...more

BLM Issues Right-of-Way Application Rule In An Effort To Spark Renewable Energy Development

by Ben Rubin | Nossaman LLP on 5/1/2013

As reported earlier today by a number of news outlets (see for example this KCET article by Chris Clarke), the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") will be issuing a Final Rule to facilitate right-of-way applications for lands...more

Earth Matters - April 2013: Recent Decision Highlights Distinction Between Compliance With Multiple Environmental Programs

by Kimberly Barnashuk, Adam Walters | Phillips Lytle LLP on 4/26/2013

A recent New York Court of Appeals decision, Bronx Committee for Toxic Free Schools v. New York City School Construction Authority, 20 N.Y.3d 148 (2012), highlighted the interplay between the compliance process for the State...more

City May Not Use “Anti-SLAPP” Motion to Dismiss Claim That City Employee Falsely Told Potential Tenants That Property Owner Was...

by Jon E. Goetz, Jeffrey L. Massey | Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 4/24/2013

Property owners often bristle at statements that local government staff make to prospective tenants or purchasers of their property, concerned that they will be scared away by overly harsh or inaccurate speech. When those...more