On August 15, 2025, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (the “Minister”) announced the approval of several Official Plan Amendments, with modifications, to increase density and height limits in certain Major...more
On January 21, 2025, the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) certified the city-led Midtown South Mixed-Use (MSMX) Plan into public review. The MSMX Plan is the first piece of the Adams administration’s “Manhattan Plan,”...more
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently provided clarification related to a municipality’s grant or denial of special land use permit applications. The case highlights the care municipal bodies must take to document their...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
In an effort to “fundamentally change [the State’s] approach to housing development, particularly for the moderate and affordable development we need most,” the Rhode Island General Assembly recently passed a slew of...more
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 102 on March 28, 2023, with an effective date of July 1, 2023. Commonly referred to as the Live Local Act (the Act), it has significant land use, zoning and tax benefits...more
Picture this scenario: You have a residential development project that had conceptual approval from the local Planning Board two years ago. Under the local laws that existed when you applied for your approval, you were...more
In an opinion filed on December 16, 2021, and belatedly ordered published on January 13, 2022, the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected a CEQA challenge to a small multifamily project in the City of Santa Cruz. Ocean...more
On February 11, 2022, the Vermont Supreme Court revised its analysis in the Snowstone appeal addressing the question of when development triggers Act 250 jurisdiction in so‑called “one-acre towns.” ...more
In my last post, “Real Estate Alphabet Soup: Y Is for Yard”, I continued my primer on the “alphabet soup” of real estate. This post continues to stir the “alphabet soup” and completes the recipe with the final ingredient, the...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
The New Jersey Division of Local Government Services (the “Division”) provided operational guidance this week, encouraging municipal Planning Boards and Zoning Boards of Adjustment to engage in telephonic and/or virtual...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
Part 2: New California Housing Laws - Agencies will have expanded roles under the Surplus Land Act, and will have to satisfy new housing element requirements under Assembly Bill 1486, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on...more
In California, lien priority is usually resolved by a straightforward examination of the time of creation or recordation with the County Recorder, which gives “constructive notice” of the lien to the world. But some liens...more
Dallas Court of Appeals finds that a home-rule city lacks authority to require landowners developing property in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) to obtain city building permits, inspections and approvals, and...more
It is not uncommon for municipal planning departments to require applicants that are seeking land use approvals involving multiple contiguous parcels to consolidate or merge the properties to form one single larger parcel. ...more
An increase in bike paths and lanes could lead to an increase in claims against municipalities. Bike riding may have many benefits for the rider and for the environment. However, as recently reported in The Los Angeles...more