Land Use

COURSE GOALS The course will provide an overview of the legal framework for how we plan and regulate the use of land in the US and how the law resolves disputes over the use of land between private property owners and the public. Topics covered include zoning administration, federal and state constitutional limits on land use regulation including due process and takings and issues related to exclusionary zoning, growth controls and historic preservation. The goal is that students will develop an ability to conduct a probing and thoughtful analysis of land use disputes: understand applicable legal principles and standards for the regulation of land; become aware of the subtleties and difficulties of applying the law presented by competing private interests versus public policy concerns; and become familiar with strategies to balance public demands and further clients’ interests as well as see possibilities for future law.