Law of the Land
This blawg is designed to provide a forum for the discussion of current laws, policies and decisions that affect the use of land. It highlights new court decisions, new state and federal laws and policies, and actions at the local government level that guide and/or impact land use and community development. Readers may use this blaw to keep current on trends in land-use law by subscribing to the daily email to bring news of the “case or development of the day,” and readers may also watch developments in specific areas of the law by using the categorical tags to review all recent posting relating to a particular topic. All views and opinions are welcome in the form of comments to individual postings.
Author: Patricia E. Salkin is associate dean and director of the Government Law Center of Albany Law School and a past chair of the ABA State & Local Government Law Section.
Blawg Related Categories: Administrative Law • Albany Law School • Law Professor
Recent Posts from Law of the Land
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NY Court of Appeals Discusses Peculiar Nature of Quarrying for Purposes of Nonconforming Use Status
Concluding that due to the peculiar nature of quarrying, it is unrealistic and unreasonable to require the owner of a large tract of land used for quarrying to have actively mined all areas of the…
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Zoning Board May Properly Grant Variance on Second Request Where Circumstances Change
The Respondent requested area variances to permit him to subdivide a parcel into two substandard lots where he intended to relocate a single-family residence currently located on mid-parcel onto one lot, and to construct a…
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Modification to Conditional Use Permit Reducing Number of Parking Spaces Upheld
Dehnert owned a piece of property that was divided by a city street right of way. On the west side of the street, his parcel contained restaurant space, and on east side of the street…
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Court Remands to Determine Whether Special Facts Exist to Show Moratoria and Delay Were Unreasonable and in Bad Faith
Six months following the filing of a commercial site plan application with the Town Department of Planning, Environment and Land Management to develop a retail building which was a permitted use under the applicable zoning…
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Municipalities May Not Consider Comprehensive Plans and Other Land Use Regulations When Determining Whether to Establish an Agricultural Security Area
In June 2007, the Board of Supervisors of East Lampeter Township received a petition by a group of Amish farmers to establish an Agricultural Security Area (ASA) encompassing 13 farms and 788 acres. The farmers…
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Property Owner Lacks Standing to Challenge CAFO Located One-Third of a Mile Away
Following approval by the board of zoning appeals of a special exception to allow for a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) which would house 2,000 cows on 27 acres, Thomas, who owned property located one-third…
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Board Properly Denied Requested Relief for Extraordinary Hardship for Auto Dealership
When reviewing a decision of the Town Board which determined that the Petitioner’s proposed uses of the subject property were not permitted under the zoning code, and which after a hearing denied the application for…
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Town Properly Conducted Environmental Review for Proposed Wal-Mart Project
After determining that the Petitioner homeowners association had standing to challenge the project review since it met its burden of establishing “that at least one of its members would have standing to sue, [and] that…
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Municipal Lease for Siting of Cell Tower Did Not Violate Zoning
In early 2006, T-Mobile approached the Town about the possibility of locating a cell tower in the Town. In October 2006, the Town Council voted to authorize the Town to enter into a site lease.…
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Production of Biodiesel Fuel for Off-Site Use is Not a Bona Fide Farm Use for Purposes of Zoning Exemption
Farm owners applied to have a part of their farm rezoned from single-family residential to heavy manufacturing conditional use district for the purpose of allowing for the “manufacture of soybeans and other crops to biodiesel.”…