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
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco - San Francisco Office Market Shows Signs of Life (Wall Street Journal): Sales slowly materialize as some sellers accept lower prices,...more
At the June 13, 2023 Board of Supervisors hearing, the “Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse and Downtown Economic Revitalization” legislation was introduced. The legislation would amend various Planning Code sections to...more
In response to Mayor London Breed’s recent Executive Directive, titled “Housing For All,” on May 4, 2023, the San Francisco Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a package of Planning...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco - Housing Wonks on a Mission to Shorten S.F.’s Permitting Process (Fixing Our City Podcast): Assemblymember Matt Haney and YIMBY...more
A Court of Appeal held that the state’s density bonus law (Gov’t Code § 65915) does not require applicants to submit financial information to support requests for incentives or waivers and preempted a city ordinance that...more
The Suffolk County legislature is currently considering a bill (I.R. 1478-2021) that would provide towns and villages with a greater opportunity to weigh in on certain zoning applications proposed in adjacent municipalities...more
As a “home rule” state, New York’s zoning and other land use decisions are typically made at the village, town, or city level. However, Section 239-m of the General Municipal Law (GML) requires a referral to, and a...more
This week, we provide an update on the Philadelphia City Planning Commission’s newly issued regulations. This summary is followed by our weekly zoning, land use, and construction update. ...more
In early June 2020, Arlington County will roll out a new virtual Site Plan Review Committee (SPRC) process that should streamline Arlington’s community review process in the short to midterm....more
In this op-ed for pv magazine, David Lazerwitz and Linda Sobczynski of Farella Braun + Martel examine the levels of precaution necessary to ensure fire risk mitigation in project development. Originally published in...more
Costs for many non-residential developments in San Francisco are poised to increase. On September 19, 2019, the Planning Commission approved a proposed ordinance that would more than double the City-wide Jobs Housing Linkage...more
After over seven years of planning and public outreach, as of January 7, 2019, the Central SoMa Plan and its implementing legislation are finally effective. The City’s analysis concludes that the Plan area has development...more
On Monday, October 16, 2017, the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners voted (4-1) to direct County staff to draft a moratorium ordinance that would postpone County approval of new development applications for three to...more
In its February 14 decision (certified for publication on March 15) in Residents Against Specific Plan 380 v. County of Riverside, the Fourth Appellate District upheld the County of Riverside’s (“County’s”) approval of a...more