Real Estate Developer Rights When Cities Demand Too Much
How To Be A Project Advocate By Diffusing Adjacent Neighbor Tensions
In April, the Supreme Court held in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, California that the Takings Clause of the United States Constitution applies to legislative land-use conditions, such as impact fees. This will result in...more
Most private development projects in California trigger some sort of discretionary public approval, whether it be environmental review, zone changes, permits, or other forms of entitlement approvals. As part of that approval...more
The Florida Legislature on Feb. 28, 2024, passed Senate Bill 328, which amends the Live Local Act (Amended Act). It becomes effective upon becoming law (except as otherwise provided). While most of the 2023 Live Local Act...more
We would not blame you if you said that dealing with attorneys is not your favorite part of being a municipal official. However, in our defense, people use attorneys because they need help with complicated legal processes and...more
The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, California, a case that concerns whether land use permit conditions in the form of monetary exactions created by legislation are...more
House Bill 14 (by Harris (R), House District 8, Palestine, Anderson County, Texas) - Effective September 1, 2023 - THIRD-PARTY REVIEW OF PLATS, PLANS, PERMITS AND INSPECTIONS - HB 14 adds a new Chapter 247 to the...more
Last month, in Cuffaro v Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Bellport (Index # 620453/2021), the Suffolk Supreme Court reinforced the existing and binding case law that a municipality’s issuance of a building permit to...more
The land use entitlement process in California is notoriously complicated, lengthy, and fraught with uncertainty. Less attention is paid to the process of receiving building permits, post-entitlement. Generally, this process...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team...more
On January 19, 2023, Representative Kevin Honan filed new legislation entitled “An Act to Safeguard Municipal Permitting” targeted at addressing special permit protections and timelines for previously approved projects. This...more
On January 5, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law bill A573 which amends the Uniform Construction Code by codifying the requirement that townships complete building inspections within three business days of request by...more
La Sección Primera del Consejo de Estado de Colombia, expidió el pasado 14 de julio de 2022 una sentencia, con ponencia del Consejero Hernando Sánchez Sánchez (la Sentencia), por medio de la cual se hacen importantes...more
All entitlements in Virginia's Fairfax County (Fairfax or the county) are evaluated for their conformance with the county's Comprehensive Plan (Comprehensive Plan). As required by state law, the Comprehensive Plan is a...more
You may notice water being diverted from a neighboring property onto your property. Or, perhaps you have concerns that the property located above yours seems to be shifting, and you fear a landslide....more
Due to delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other factors, many municipalities across Long Island are experiencing significant backlogs of processing building permit applications. ...more
On April 1, 2021, the Superior Court issued a summary judgment decision in Katharine Armstrong, et al. v. Kathleen Theoharides, et al., which impacts coastal properties on previously filled tidelands and millions of square...more
The Ballard Spahr Zoning and Land Use Team is continuing to monitor all aspects of the Philadelphia land use approval process during the COVID-19 emergency, including the issuance of zoning and building permits, regulation of...more
In a striking blow, stripping a city of a judgment of nearly $1 million, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently reversed a superior court summary judgment awarding fines to the City of Haverhill for a developer’s violations...more
The Ballard Spahr Zoning and Land Use Team is continuing to monitor all aspects of the City of Philadelphia land use approval process during the COVID-19 emergency, including the issuance of zoning and building permits,...more
In response to Hurricane Dorian, Governor Ron DeSantis has issued Executive Order No. 19-190 (reaffirming and amending Executive Order No. 19-189) declaring a state of emergency for all 67 counties in the state of Florida....more
In Town of Brookhaven v Golemi, 2019 NY Slip Op 51477(U) [Sup Ct, Suffolk County 2019], the Town of Brookhaven (“Brookhaven”) successfully sought and obtained injunctive relief to remove a structure that violated Brookhaven’s...more
Land use & zoning attorneys, Stanley B. Price and Anthony De Yurre, discuss what real estate developer's rights are when the government demands too much, and where the line should be drawn according to both statute and case...more
In Akeson v Inc. Vil. of Asharoken, 2019 NY Slip Op 32756(U), Index No. 57/2018 (Sup Ct, Suffolk County 2019), the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the Incorporated Village of Asharoken’s (“Asharoken”) decisions...more
Residents of the Village of East Williston have prevailed (for now) over the East Williston Union Free School District’s plan to install a six-foot tall perimeter fence at the North Side School in the Village of East...more