Law of the Land

A blog on land use law and zoning

http://lawoftheland.wordpress.com feed://lawoftheland.wordpress.com/feed/
  • Added Sep 9, 2008
  • Activity Rank #5 : Popularity Rank #5
  • 1 posts in 24 hours : 33 posts in 4 weeks
  • Tags:
Nov 20
Federal District Court Dismisses Substantive Due Process and Equal Protection Claims : The Rustons own 27 acres of property in the Town of Skaneateles which they have been trying to subdivide and develop since....
Law of the Land
Nov 19
Parking, Zoning, Easement Disagreement Between Adjacent Houses of Worship : Best described as a property dispute between two houses of worship, with the plaintiff congregation alleging claims of trespass by the defendant congregation and the defendant congregation alleging th...
Law of the Land
Nov 18
RLUIPA Case Not Ripe as Church Failed to Pursue Final Governmental Determination : Shenkel United Methodist Church desired to participate in a program to provide monthly shelter to homeless individuals during the winter months....
Law of the Land
Nov 17
7th Circuit Holds Locality Seeking to Create a Commercial Area Can Exclude Non-Commercial Uses Without Violating RLUIPA : The River of Life Kingdom Ministries sought to relocate its 67-member congregation from a crowded warehouse that it shared with two other churches to a “fixer-upper” blighted property it purchased in...
Law of the Land
Nov 16
NY Court of Appeals Opens Door to Standing for Environmental Review Challenges : In a victory for those who have long believed that the New York Court of Appeals needed to open the courthouse door wider for advocates seeking standing in environmental disputes, a decision last week...
Law of the Land
Nov 15
Adult Oriented Business Moratorium and Subsequent Regulations Upheld : In 2005, the County began the process of revising its comprehensive plan and among the issues examined were adult-oriented businesses (AOBs)....
Law of the Land
Nov 14
DOJ Argues that City’s Old Town District Cannot Exclude Religious Organizations : The following summary appears in the Religious Freedom in Focus Newsletter (Fall 2009, vol. 40) prepared by the U.S. Dept....
Law of the Land
Nov 13
Planning director lacks authority to modify zoning map to conform to legal description : About 20 acres of the company’s 63-acre tract were zoned for general business use in 1974 when the zoning map was based on 1955 aerial photos.  The balance was zoned for residential-agricultural use. ...
Law of the Land
Nov 12
Due Process Required When Imposing Civil Penalties for Alleged Violations : Post, was the owner of numerous rental properties in Tacoma, twenty-four of which were found to be in violation of city ordinances because they were substandard or in some cases derelict....
Law of the Land
Nov 12
New Article on Climate Change and Local Planning and Regulations : A series of articles are being published from a number of different law reviews representing research conducted at the Government Law Center earlier this year. In Sustainability and Land Use Plann...
Law of the Land
Nov 11
Court Upholds County Permit for Equestrian Barn : Adjacent property owners challenged the granting of a permit to construct a barn/equestrian center on their neighbor’s property....
Law of the Land
Nov 10
11th Circuit Court of Appeals Finds Insufficient Evidence to Support Discriminatory Enforcement Claims : Bonasera, a Hispanic woman living in a predominantly white neighborhood, installed a second kitchen in her home and in 1999 began renting rooms to boarders.  In 2006, following the complaints of a nei...
Law of the Land
Nov 9
Substantial Evidence Supported Variance Denial for Telecommunication Tower : Industrial Tower and Wireless, LLC (ITW) alleged that the East Kingston Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) improperly denied ITW’s application for a variance to construct a wireless telecommunications t...
Law of the Land
Nov 8
Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down retroactive application of sex offender residency restrictions : The Supreme Court of Kentucky held that the retroactive application of sex offender residency restrictions (a 2006 law that limited sex offenders from residing within 1000 feet of a school, a daycare...
Law of the Land
Nov 7
Vested Rights Do Not Extend To Filing of Site Plan Application, Only to Building Permit Application : Abbey Road Group, LLC sought to construct a 575-unit multifamily condominium project on over 36 acres (the “Property”) in the city....
Law of the Land
Nov 6
Proposed Initiative to Subject all Land Use Enactments to Popular Vote Invalidated : Carmony submitted an Application of Initiative Petition to the Clerk of the Matanuska-Suitna Borough....
Law of the Land
Nov 5
Zoning Ordinance That Allowed a Firing Range Near a Residential Subdivision Does Not Subject Town to Liability for Alleged Due Process Violation : Plaintiffs live in a development one and one half north of a sportsman’s club and they had previously complained of stray bullets reaching their neighborhood and striking their homes in 2006.  The Clu...
Law of the Land
Nov 5
Local Zoning for a Broadcast Antenna Preempted for AM Radio Station : A reader of Law of the Land brings us of an “oldie but goodie” case…as there is not much law in this area, I agreed to post a 2002 landmark case as a reminder for those who practice in the area. The l...
Law of the Land
Nov 4
Citizens Claiming an Adverse Impact May Challenge Annexation Where Their Land is Not Part of the Annexed Property : Lifestyle initiated a voluntary annexation by requesting the City of Reno annex 7,000 acres of land in Cold Springs Valley....
Law of the Land
Nov 3
More Searching Scrutiny Is Required Where Adult Uses are not Allowed As of Right, but Rather are Subject to Special Use Permit Review : The Village’s Board of Trustees denied Chicago Joe’s request for a special use permit to locate in the office/industrial district of the Village since the proposed use violated the zoning code which p...
Law of the Land
Nov 3
Need Continuing Education Credits? Last Chance to Sign-Up for On-Line Land Use Law Course Through Rutgers : I mentioned in an earlier post the various offerings from the Bloustein On Line Continuing Education Courses at Rutgers University.  The Current Trends in Land Use Law course begins on Thursday, Novem...
Law of the Land
Nov 2
Variance Denial for Telecommunications Tower Upheld as No Significant Gap In Service Existed and Ordinance was not Exclusionary : In granting summary judgment in favor of the Township, the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania held that the denial of a variance to construct a personal wireless facility did not result in a viola...
Law of the Land
Nov 1
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Finds Houston’s Sign Code Constitutional : RTM, an outdoor advertising company which owned fifty-nine billboards in the City of Houston was sued in state court by the City for alleged violations of the sign code and for public nuisance.  In re...
Law of the Land
Oct 31
Denial of Special Exception for Theoretical Subdivision in Tree and Slope Protection Overlay District is Supported by Substantial Evidence : The developer sought a special exception for a theoretical lot subdivision to build 13 houses on a single lot in the Chain Bridge Road/University Terrace Tree and Slope Protection Overlay District.  F...
Law of the Land
Oct 30
Appeals Court Agrees that Owner is Estopped from Seeking Release of Open Space Covenant Where Benefits Were Already Accepted : Vo-Land brought an action to lift a covenant that was placed on 96 acres of land in the Village of Bartlett and to disconnect the land from the Village....
Law of the Land
Oct 29
In Calculating Maximum Density Zoning Regulation Allowed Commission to Consider Parent Parcel in Existence at Time Regulations Were Adopted : The applicants applied to the commission for permission to subdivide their four acre parcel of property located in Avon into two lots, each lot comprised of two acres....
Law of the Land
Oct 28
Denial of Permit for Antenna on Extension to Smokestack Already Housing Two Antennas Violates Telecommunications Act : In 2000, the town approved wireless communications antennas on an existing smokestack of an old mill building....
Law of the Land
Oct 28
New NY Law Requires Consistency Among Local Disaster Preparedness Plans : Introduced as A....
Law of the Land
Oct 27
Although Lots Exempted from Subdivision Review, Zoning Regulations Were Still Applicable : Tonter owned three tracts of land in the city. Tracts 1 and 2 were zoned A-2, Agricultural District. Tract 3 was zoned A-1, Agricultural....
Law of the Land
Oct 27
New Publication Available on Ethics Issues in Land Use : Each year an article is published reviewing the reported decisions involving allegations of unethical conduct in the land use area from the previous year.  A number of themes emerged from the most rec...
Law of the Land
Oct 27
Nonconforming Mobile Home May Not Be Replaced With New Mobile Home : The city brought a legal action against David and Marian Cox after they replaced a mobile home on their property that was originally placed on the land in 1990 so that Marian Cox’s parents could resid...
Law of the Land
Oct 27
5th Circuit Court of Appeals Opens Door to Climate Change Litigation : In reversing the District Court, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously found that Gulf Coast residents had standing to sue energy and chemical companies under Mississippi state law for having e...
Law of the Land
Oct 27
Lesson: Research Chain of Title and Zoning Regulations Prior to Purchasing Property at Auction : The Connecticut Superior Court, following a trial, rejected a taking claim by a developer who purchased a non-conforming, unbuildable lot at a tax sale and was subsequently denied two minor variances...
Law of the Land