Zoning And Land Use Controls

Understanding the Law of Zoning and Land Use Controls, now in its Third Edition, is a comprehensive and clearly written text addressing zoning, land use, and environmental regulation in a national, jurisdiction-independent manner. It first sets out the constitutional framework for land use regulation in a discussion of the takings clause, followed by a discussion of the basic form of land use controls, Euclidian zoning, and then non-Euclidian regulations. Also discussed are administrative and legislative relief from land use controls, the bread and butter of a land use practice. The book is divided into six parts: Part 1: Fundamental Concepts: The Police Power, Takings, and Zoning Part 2: The Zoning Forms of Action Part 3: Economic Discrimination and Zoning Part 4: Wetlands and Beaches Part 5: Regulating the User, Not the Use Part 6: Halting an Owner's Further Regulation

Land use controls can affect the quality of the environment, the provision of public services, the distribution of income and wealth, the development of natural resources, and the growth of the national economy. The Economics of Zoning Laws is the first book to apply the modern economic theory of property rights to all major aspects of zoning. Zoning laws are neither irrational constrints on otherwise efficient markets nor disinterested attempts to correct market failure. Rather, zoning must be viewed as a collective property right, vested in local governments and administered by politicians who rationally repsond to their constituents and to developers as markets for development rights arise. The Economics of Zoning Laws develops the economic theories of property rights and public choice and applies them to three zoning controversies: the siting of a large industrial plant, the exclusionary zoning of the suburbs, and the constitutional protection of propery owners from excessive regulation. Economic and legal theory, William Fischel contends, suggest that payment of damages under the taking clause of the Constitution may provide the most effective remedy for excessive zoning regulations.

"Zoning has for a century enabled cities to chart their own course. It is a useful and popular institution, enabling homeowners to protect their main investment and provide safe neighborhoods. As home values have soared in recent years, however, this protection has accelerated to the degree that new housing development has become unreasonably difficult and costly. The widespread Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) syndrome is driven by voters’ excessive concern about their home values and creates barriers to growth that reach beyond individual communities. The barriers contribute to suburban sprawl, entrench income and racial segregation, retard regional immigration to the most productive cities, add to national wealth inequality, and slow the growth of the American economy. Some state, federal, and judicial interventions to control local zoning have done more harm than good. More effective approaches would moderate voters’ demand for local-land use regulation—by, for example, curtailing federal tax subsidies to owner-occupied housing"--Publisher's description.

Land Use Controls: Cases and Materials emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach that weaves historical, social, and economic causes and effects of legal doctrine. The casebook also brings out the functional relationships between formally unrelated routes of law—statutes, ordinances, constitutional doctrines, and common law—by focusing on their practical deployment, developers, neighbors, planners, politicians, and their empirical effects on outcomes like neighborhood quality, housing supply, racial segregation, and tax burdens. A thematic framework illuminates the connections among multiple topics under land law and gives attention to the factual and political context of the cases and aftermath of decisions. Dynamic pedagogy features original introductory text, cases, notes, excerpts from law review articles, and visual aids (maps, charts, graphs) throughout. New to the Fifth Edition: A focus on affordability and the new conflicts over urban zoning A fully updated treatment of local administrative law Recent constitutional rulings, including up-to-date Supreme Court decisions on exactions and regulatory takings Thoroughly updated notes, with recent cases, law review literature, and empirical studies Professors and students will benefit from: Distinguished authorship by respected scholars and professors with a range of expertise An interdisciplinary approach combining historical, social, political, and economic perspectives and offering dynamic opportunities for analysis along with broad legal coverage Concise but comprehensive treatment of the legal issues in private and public regulation of land development, including environmental justice, building codes and subdivision regulations, and the federal role in urban development A thematic framework illuminating connections among multiple discrete topics under land law and the factual and political context of cases and aftermath of decisions Excellent coverage and dynamic pedagogy