News & Analysis as of

State and Local Government Zoning Laws

Ballard Spahr LLP

Multifamily August 2025 Alert

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We start our August Alert with some potentially very good news. The RENTAL Act, a bill to reform TOPA, passed its first vote by the DC Council on July 28, 2025. The RENTAL Act includes, among other things, a blanket exemption...more

Cozen O'Connor

Cozen Cities - August 6, 2025

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BOSTON—City Joins Data Alliance to Boost Services - Boston is partnering with the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance to improve resident services using AI and analytics. The City aims to modernize 311 notifications...more

Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP

Judge Strikes Down Long Island Dispensary Zoning Restrictions – More to Come?

A recent decision in the New York State Supreme Court has significant implications for the local regulation of adult-use cannabis dispensaries in New York. Tink & E. Co. (hereafter, “Tink”), an adult-use retail dispensary...more

Cozen O'Connor

New York Note: Hochul Urges Federal Gun Ban, Adams Vetoes Council, Council Immigration Legislation, Client Spotlight

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Hochul Calls for National “Assault Weapon” Ban- Following the tragic mass shooting in Manhattan this past week, Governor Kathy Hochul urged federal lawmakers to strengthen national gun safety laws. The gunman entered a...more

Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP

Too Close for Comfort: OCM’s School-Distance Mistake Puts 100+ Dispensaries at Risk

In a shocking announcement, the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) informed 108 adult-use dispensary license holders, including 89 in NYC, that the current locations of their dispensaries are in violation of the...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Solar Energy System/Tree Removal: Massachusetts Appellate Court Addresses Zoning Issue

Co-Author Andrew Kutchka The Appeals Court of Massachusetts (“Court”) addressed in a July 9th Opinion an issue arising out of the siting of a governmental solar energy system. See Sunpin Energy Servs., LLC v. Zoning Bd. of...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

California Budget Bills Plug Holes to Stop Certain Projects from Sinking

This is the 10th update in our series covering AB 130 and SB 131, two bills that work substantive changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California housing law....more

Nossaman LLP

Sheetz Loses Again: Legislatively Enacted Fees Satisfy Nolan/Dollan

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In 2024, in what was heralded as a big win for developers in California, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of California precedent and held that legislatively enacted development impact fees must satisfy the “essential...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Solar Panel Array/Siting: New Hampshire Supreme Court Applies State Solar Development Statute

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire (“Court”) addressed in April 9, 2024 Opinion issues arising out of the installation of a solar array. See Mojalaki Holdings, LLC. v. City of Franklin, 2024 N.H. 17, 2024 WL 1514612 (N.H....more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Cutting Through California's Housing Crisis: Are New CEQA Exemptions Enough?

As discussed in our earlier post, California's CEQA landscape has rapidly, and potentially seismically, evolved with the passage of AB 130 and SB 131. This post focuses on the immediate creation of a new statutory exemption,...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

How SB 131 Tries To Put the ‘Land’ Back in ‘Land Use’

This is the ninth update in our series covering AB 130 and SB 131, two bills that work substantive changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California housing law....more

Shutts & Bowen LLP

Department of Commerce Denies Orange County’s Vision 2050 Development Plans

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On June 3, 2025, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt the County’s highly anticipated Vision 2050 Comprehensive Plan and accompanying Orange Code, setting a new regulatory framework to guide growth...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Case Study: Innovative Affordable Housing Financing in Fairfax County, Virginia

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A major affordable housing development underway in Fairfax County, Virginia, is setting a new precedent for large-scale, multi-phase transactions in high-cost suburban markets. Located adjacent to the County’s Government...more

Cozen O'Connor

New York Note: NYC Charter Meeting, DOJ Sues NYC, City & State Who’s Who in Insurance

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The New York City Charter Revision Commission voted this week to place five proposed amendments on the November ballot. The first bill would create a more streamlined process for reviewing publicly financed affordable...more

Lowndes

State Finds Vision 2050 to Be Void Ab Initio

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On July 28, 2025, the Florida Department of Commerce issued a letter to Orange County finding its Comprehensive Plan Amendment implementing Vision 2050 void ab initio, or invalid from the beginning....more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Texas Enacts Critical Real Estate Reforms—Senate Bills 15, 17, 840

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Share on Twitter Print Share by Email Share Back to top Prior to his June 22, 2025, deadline, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law hundreds of bills passed by the Texas Legislature. Three of these, Senate Bills 15, 17,...more

Phelps Dunbar

Florida Legislature Tightens Land Use Regulations with Senate Bill 1080

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Senate Bill 1080 (SB 1080) makes several pro-property rights changes to Florida Statutes that affect local governments’ ability to regulate land use. The bill amends the application and approval process for development...more

Cozen O'Connor

Charter Amendments May Change NYC Council's Role in Land Use and Housing

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On July 21, 2025, the New York City Charter Revision Commission (CRC) voted to include five proposed amendments to the City Charter on this year’s New York City general election ballot, including measures that would expedite...more

Nossaman LLP

Condemning Land Already Put to a Public Use – More Necessary Public Use Doctrine

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Periodically, a new public project needs to acquire land that is already put to an existing public use. In order to condemn such land, the condemning entity must demonstrate that the proposed use is either a compatible use or...more

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass

CEQA Transportation Mitigation Fees and Other Key Reforms in AB 130 and SB 131

This is our third update on the important changes in the two budget trailer bills, AB 130 and SB 131, after previous posts addressing the new CEQA exemption for infill housing and the “near miss” CEQA streamlining process....more

Hinckley Allen

Massachusetts Appeals Court Curbs Zoning Board Discretion in Special Permit Denial

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The various approvals, permits, orders of conditions, and the like that may be required to proceed with work on a given project can seem daunting at times.  And when a project’s proposed use is not automatically authorized...more

Downey Brand LLP

Wait, What? Major Changes to CEQA Slip into Law via Deft Maneuvering

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Much is discussed every year in the Legislature about how the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) needs reform. But the calls for change nearly always fail, aside from a few tinkering changes. This year is...more

Lowndes

Orange County Upholds Rural Boundary and Vision 2050 Plans Despite SB180 Concerns

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Orange County has voted not to repeal ordinances related to the County’s Rural Boundary/Rural Area, Lake Pickett Study Area, and Vision 2050/Orange Code. Despite concerns surrounding SB180, the Orange County Board of...more

Miller Starr Regalia

State Budget Bill Includes Landmark CEQA and Housing Law Changes

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On June 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed AB 130 and SB 131 into immediately effective law as budget trailer bills, marking a historic effort to accelerate housing production and to reform the CEQA review process that has been...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

California Real Estate Developers Optimistic About CEQA Reform

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On June 30, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130) and Senate Bill 131 (SB 131), legislation that contains significant changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that...more

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