Law of the Land: Real Estate & Property Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Real Estate & Property Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Real Estate & Property Law

Law of the Land

Forum for the discussion of current laws, policies and decisions that affect the use of land. Highlights new court decisions, new state and federal laws, and actions at the local government level that guide and/or impact land use and community development.
By atricia Salkin

Post Frequency: 4.4/day

Last Entry: October 28, 2020 at 16:28:04

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Dismisses Windmill Case Alleging Takings on Ripeness Grounds

Posted on July 13, 2010
In 2003, Ogle County amended its zoning ordinance to allow for special use permits for windmills used to generate power. In 2005, the County granted Baileyville Wind Farms a special use permit to allow the construction of 40 windmills on its property...

7th Circuit Court of Appeals Adopts New Test for Application RLUIPA?s Equal Terms Provision

Posted on July 12, 2010
The River of Life Kingdom Ministries is a small church that sought to relocate their operation to a building in a commercial district in the Village of Hazel Crest. The zoning ordinance was amended to exclude new noncommercial uses such as churches, community centers, art galleries and schools...

Land Use Aspects of Medical Marijuana Discussed in Forthcoming Article

Posted on July 12, 2010
Fourteen states currently permit the medical use of marijuana, yet state statutes fail to account for the challenges that confront municipal planners and officials whose agenda includes public health, safety and welfare of residents, including minor children...

NY High Court Upholds Use of Eminent Domain for Columbia University

Posted on July 11, 2010
In 2003 Columbia University proposed a $6.3 billion expansion of its 36-acre campus by building an additional 6.8 million square feet of space for classrooms, research facilities, administration, housing, and parking, including redeveloping 17-acres in the West Harlem neighborhood of ?Manhattanville? from W...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Second Circuit Explains that Alternative Locations for Adult Entertainment Business Must be Evaluated at Time Ordinance was Challenged

Posted on July 10, 2010
The Town of Smithtown enacted an adult use ordinance in 1994 limiting the use to three districts in the Town and amortizing out adult entertainment uses in all other districts in the Town by Jan. 1, 1998. TJS challenged the law as a violation of free speech, with specific emphasis on whether there are a [...

NY Appeals Court Agrees that ?Farm Winery? Not Considered ?Agricultural Use? under Town Zoning Code

Posted on July 10, 2010
Petitioners purchased two acres of property for the purpose of operating a ?farm winery? which was originally located three miles away in a neighboring town. The Town building inspector denied the application for site plan approval, because part of the proposed operation was considered a ?retail business,? which was not one of the allowed uses [...

W. Va. Supreme Court Agrees that Board Members and Board Attorney Had Impermissible Conflicts of Interest

Posted on July 09, 2010
In 2001, Thornhill, LLC, a real estate developer, applied for a conditional use permit (CUP) to enable it to build a new subdivision in a rural portion of Jefferson County. In evaluating the application, Thornhill was initially given a passing land evaluation and site assessment (LESA) score, which would have permitted it to proceed with [...

NY Court of Appeals Finds Landfill is Entitled to Nonconforming Use Status and that Entire Parcel Need Not Be Used at Once to Acquire this Vested Right

Posted on July 08, 2010
Plaintiffs owned a 50 acre parcel intended to be used as a construction and demolition (C & D) landfill. They obtained a special use variance to use the entire parcel for this purpose, subject to DEC approval, which was later granted for three acres of the property...

$100 Million in Sustainability Planning Grants Available from HUD

Posted on July 07, 2010
HUD has released a Notice of Funding Availability for the new $100 million regional sustainability planning grant program. Applications are due August 23, 2010. The centerpiece of HUD’s Sustainable Communities Initiative, grants are available to develop regional sustainability plans, improve existing plans, and prepare more detailed “execution plans” to implement adopted regional sustainability plans...

District Court Dismisses Section 1983 Case Where Petition Against Planning Department Results in Refusal to Recommend Individual for Municipal Judgeship

Posted on July 07, 2010
Chinn was employed as a County District Court Commissioner and had filed a petition against the City of Spokane?s Planning Department regarding approval of a structure 115 feet over the zoning restriction for a property owner who contributed to City Council campaigns...

11th Circuit Court of Appeals Finds Use of Residence for On-Line Adult Entertainment Content Constitutes a Business Use Not Allowed in a Residential District

Posted on July 06, 2010
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the District Court decision reported earlier on this blog now holding that the City of Miami could regulate through zoning the use of a residence for on-line adult entertainment. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals distinguished this case from their earlier holding in Voyeur Dorm, L...

Second Circuit Finds Federal Telecommunications Act Law Preempts Local Wireless Ordinance That Is Based On DAS Preference

Posted on July 06, 2010
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the district court?s decision invalidating a local government?s zoning ordinance which included a technological preference for DAS and microcell based systems. The case marks an important decision for the wireless industry which has long argued that municipalities have overreached by giving a ?preference? to [...

Federal District Court in New York Dismisses Claims of Religious Discrimination by Local Zoning Laws

Posted on July 05, 2010
Plaintiffs, religious corporations and individuals affiliated with the Orthodox Jewish Community, brought action for alleged discriminatory conduct, claiming a prior lawsuit filed by four villages (Village Defendants) was done so to intimidate and prevent them from building religious housing project; that certain zoning provisions were incorporated to exclude members of the Orthodox Jewish faith from [...

N.Y. Federal District Court Dismisses Takings, Due Process and Equal Protection Claims Due to Ban on Sand Mining Based on Collateral Estoppel and Ripeness Grounds

Posted on July 04, 2010
Plaintiff commenced action asserting claims for violations of Fourteenth Amendment substantive and procedural due process and equal protection rights and a regulatory taking in violation of its Fifth Amendment rights when the Town of Riverhead enacted a ban on sand mining in Town?s Industrial A zoning use district after it already granted plaintiffs application for [...

NY Appeals Court Overturns Trial Court?s Finding of Bad Faith and Undue Delay in Variance Denial

Posted on July 03, 2010
In 2004, the petitioners purchased a lot that had 100 feet of frontage, and in 2006 they applied to subdivide the property into two lots, each with 50 feet of frontage, meeting the zoning code requirement at the time of 50 feet. A temporary moratorium in effect prevented initial review of the application...

Entry onto Private Property to Enforce Town Code Held a Valid Exercise of Police Power

Posted on July 02, 2010
Following a visual inspection of property, Castanza was told that he needed to remove items that were improperly stored in his front and side yards. The items of concern to the town included lawnmowers, wood, windows, scrap metal and concrete. Castanza told the inspector that he would ?take care of it,? and approximately 20 days [...

Second Circuit Court of Appeals Finds Qualified Immunity on Federal Claims Regarding Changes to Certificate of Occupancy, But Remands as to State Claims

Posted on July 01, 2010
Norton purchased a house in an area zoned for single family detached dwellings. He relied on the use of the home as a ?legal nonconforming two-family dwelling? with a certificate of occupancy at the time of purchase. He did not rent the house for two years, but then applied for a rental permit which was [...

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds City?s Ability to Allow Exceptions to its Freeway Facing Sign Ban and Supergraphic Sign Ban

Posted on June 30, 2010
The Los Angeles Municipal Code prohibits some types of billboards and restricts size, placement and illumination of others. A ban on freeway facing signs prohibited billboards with in 2000 feet of a freeway and signs intended to be viewed primarily by motorists...

NH Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of Discrimination Claim Following Denial of Permits for Failure to Obtain Site Plan Approval Finding Plaintiffs Failed to Appeal to Zoning Board

Posted on June 29, 2010
Plaintiffs sued the Town of Hudson for monetary damages after being denied retail vehicle permits to display and sell vehicles because they failed to obtain site plan approval. Plaintiffs contend other Hudson residents had received the same permits without obtaining site plan approval, and therefore the town?s denial was based on unlawful race discrimination in [...

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Denial of Proposed 300 Unit Multi-Family Project Finding No Constitutional Infirmities

Posted on June 28, 2010
The Township and Zoning Commission denied White Oak?s proposal to build a Planned Unit Development (PUD) with 300 multi-family units at 5 units per acre on property districted as Residential because it violated the Intensity of Use provision in the Zoning Resolution...

NY Court of Appeals Finds Mining Activity Was a Lawful Nonconforming Use

Posted on June 27, 2010
Plaintiff, owner of approximately 216 acres of land in the Town of Yorkshire, commenced a proceeding seeking a declaration that its mining of sand and gravel aggregate on the property was a lawful nonconforming use and that it had therefore acquired a vested right to mine the property...

Consent Decree Allows Jewish Shabbos House to Remain in Village and Requires Village Officials to Undergo Training on RLUIPA

Posted on June 27, 2010
According to the latest issue of the U.S. DOJ Religious Freedom in Focus newsletter, a case we have discussed in the past, Bikur Cholim, Inc. v. Village of Suffern, has now resulted in a consent decree between the government and the Village of Suffern...

No Political Animus or Malice Where Agency Failed to Follow Enforcement Guidelines

Posted on June 26, 2010
Plaintiffs alleged that the Adirondack Park Agency engaged in selective enforcement pertaining to a particular permit which called for conditions on lots. In 2005, the Adirondack Park Agency found that the Plaintiff?s home violated the restriction on height, restrictions on removal of tree growth and a compulsory condition that homes be set back at least [...

Idaho Supreme Court Upholds Board?s Subdivision Denial Since Developer Failed to Show its Substantial Rights Were Prejudiced

Posted on June 25, 2010
Kirk-Hughes Development (Kirk) appealed an amended memorandum opinion and order of the District Court of the First Judicial District of the State of Idaho, Kootenai County regarding the denial of the application for approval of a proposed planned unit development (PUD) by the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners (the Board)...

Federal District Court Finds No Equal Protection Violation For Zoning Citation Where Plaintiffs Failed to Remove Recreational Vehicle from their Lot

Posted on June 24, 2010
The Klines live on a parcel comprised of two lots. Following complaints by neighbors and questions regarding the legality of the storage of a 37.5 foot motor home on the Kline?s property, the city issued a zoning violation for storing a Recreational Vehicle (RV) exceeding 25 feet in length on residential property and for the [...

NJ Appeals Court Upholds Variance Denial for Wireless Facility Where Provider Failed to Demonstrate that the Proposed Facility Would Fill Gap in Service in Least Intrusive Manner Possible

Posted on June 23, 2010
Plaintiffs applied for variances and site plan approval to construct a wireless telecommunications facility (a 127 foot cellular service tower with a 40ft by 30ft fenced-in equipment shelter). The use variance was denied because the board determined that the plaintiff was unable to prove that there was a gap in coverage, that it had investigated [...

May a Court?s Decision Effectuate a Taking, Implicating the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments? While No Supreme Court Majority, Signs Point to Yes.

Posted on June 23, 2010
The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 17, 2010 decided an ?almost? landmark case involving property rights in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep?t of Environmental Protection et al., 560 U.S. ___ (2010). The main issues before the Court were (1) whether there is such a thing as a ?judicial taking? when a state [...

Prohibition on all Off-Site Signs and Billboards Unconstitutional

Posted on June 22, 2010
Following the adoption of local law 1-1994 which barred off-site signs, Plaintiff sought a zoning variance to erect a billboard on leased property. The parcel is zoned light industrial and is near a quarry and trash-burning plant. After its zoning board denied plaintiff’s request, the town’s board enacted Local Law 8-2007, amending §33 of L...

Class of One Claim for Selective Enforcement Survives Summary Judgment

Posted on June 20, 2010
Alfaro filed an action pursuant to § 1983 for racial discrimination, personal animus against him, lack of due process for delaying his Zoning Board of Appeals hearing, deprivation of property without due process, and conspiracy. The lower court dismissed Alfaro?s due process claims...

Town Ordinance Prohibiting Helicopters Upheld as Valid Exercise of Police Power

Posted on June 19, 2010
Plaintiff purchased a helicopter for his personal use and constructed a concrete landing pad on his residential property. When Plaintiff purchased his helicopter the Town had no provisions dealing with private aviation. This soon changed, and the Town completed a proposed ordinance concerning private aircraft and airports...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

NEIGHBOR FLOODING YOUR LAND? COURT MUST USE BALANCING TEST TO DETERMINE IF ITâ€™S A NUISANCE.
Topic: Land Use, Trespassing, Private Nuisance The Appeals Court o...

Enlarging Time to Appeal Land Use Decisions in the Interests of Justice
In Gregory v. Borough of Avalon, the Appellate Division evaluated ...

City to issue its position on land seizure
Raymond Papperman, Shareholder and member of Stark & Stark's Real ...

Neighbor Flooding your Land?
Topic: Land Use, Trespassing, Private Nuisance The Appeals Court o...

2007 Land Use Update
Gary Forshner will be speaking at New Jersey ICLE's "2007 Land Use...