Religious Use Law in South Florida
Rapid Transit Zones in Miami-Dade County
Real Estate Developer Rights When Cities Demand Too Much
Newsflash: Rockweed Not a Fish
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 12, 2024, that the "Takings Clause" enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution applies equally to legislative and administratively imposed land use permitting fees. Since...more
On January 9th of this year, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Sheetz v. El Dorado County on an important issue related to impact fees imposed on development. Under existing law, if government requires an...more
On October 11, 2023, Governor Newsom signed SB 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act (also known as "Yes in God's Back Yard" (YIGBY)), which promises to be one of the momentous housing bills of 2023. Sponsored by...more
Mediante la Resolución 1040 de 2023, el Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC) estableció una serie de medidas que determinarán en el futuro la forma en que se maneja la información catastral en Colombia y los mecanismos...more
Decarbonization in the commercial real estate sector is top of mind for building developers, owners and operators, as it has garnered increased policy momentum at all levels of government in Canada. Stakeholders must ensure...more
Recently, I detailed a variety of land use laws and land use regulations pertinent to community associations and community association managers. The webinar, which is part of Ward and Smith’s Community Association...more
Generally, many property owners assume that where a lot is held in single and separate ownership they are entitled to an area variance “as of right.” That is not entirely true. An exception to the single and separate...more
Thirty-one years after enactment of CERCLA, most environmental practitioners take for granted that remedies at federal and state Superfund sites will include a blend of removal and institutional controls (ICs). This comes...more
As detailed in prior client alerts, Connecticut is in the midst of a transformative effort with regard to its environmental programs. This transformation includes on its face smaller, but no less important, components that...more
Below are summaries of the key California and Ninth Circuit land use and development cases decided in 2020. Each case name is linked to our more extensive discussion of the case on the Land Use & Development Law Report. 1....more
For the first time in over 50 years, the City of Portland is rewriting its Land Use Code, which is found in Chapter 14 of the City’s Code of Ordinances. The effort involves several substantive policy changes aimed at making...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
EPA recently issued a guidance document (the “Guidance”) that supersedes and clarifies its 2003 guidance on what prospective purchasers of real estate must do to qualify for one of CERCLA’s three landowner liability...more
Vacasa Nearly Doubles Real Estate Footprint - ("Vacation rental platform Vacasa will pay $162M to acquire Wyndham Vacation Rentals," GeekWire on Jul 30, 2019) We learned last week that Portland-based Vacasa plans to...more
• The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) imposes strict, joint and several, retroactive liability on property owners and operators for releases of hazardous substances. However,...more
In this episode of Verrill Voices, environmental attorneys Gordon Smith and Scott Anderson discuss how private property rights could save the world, or at least the coast of Maine, when the fate of ecologically vital rockweed...more
After deliberating for a year and a half in Ross v. Acadian Seaplants, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court has unanimously held that rockweed, a type of seaweed that grows on rocks in the intertidal area all over the North...more
An appellate court has held that the sole means of challenging a certified local coastal program (LCP) based on violation of the California Coastal Act is a petition for writ of administrative mandate under Code of Civil...more
Each parcel of real property is a unique asset. It is typically well understood that location is paramount, and that size, elevation, and other physical characteristics are other important factors. Nonetheless, there are...more
In its decision in Berger v. 2 Wyndcliff, LLC, the Massachusetts Appeals Court answered an important question about extending common-scheme real estate restrictions beyond the presumptive statutory limit of 30 years. ...more
Chapter 245 of the Texas Local Government Code (the “Vested Rights Statute”), provides a regulatory scheme in which developers and the public may rely upon regulations of a regulatory agency in effect at the time an initial...more
The Volcker Rule Under the Trump Administration - The so-called Volcker Rule—named after Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board—was part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...more