The Planning and Law Division has released its Spring 2012 newsletter. The articles include:
- Urban Farming: Zoning for Growing and Distributing Food in Portland Neighborhoods
- Cellular Antennas, Shot Clocks, and Zoning: Two Years Later
- Getting Real About Shrinking Cities
- Knitting Green Infrastructure into the Urban Fabric: An Overview of Municipal Policies
- U.S. Supreme Court Bolsters Landowner Rights when Contesting Agency Non-Compliance Letters
- I Read it in the Blogs . . . (featured separately on our site)
The full newsletter may be downloaded from this site (PDF). Reprinted here is an introductory letter from the Editor, Jennie Nolon:
An interesting discussion occurred recently on the Land Use Prof Blog that questioned whether the recession and lull in the development market will result in a “lost generation” of land use lawyers, as hiring rates rapidly fall. It was a response from blog editor and Associate Professor of Law, Matt Festa, that I found the most heartening: “One of the great things about land use is that it is so fundamentally interdisciplinary, and this in turn means there are many areas of practice that involve (and often require) a good understanding of land use issues.” This positive outlook and interdisciplinary nature of land use is reflected in this edition of the Planning & Law newsletter, which – since, as they say, recessions are the best time for planning – ushers in a number of changes and new initiatives for our division.
The first of these changes is in the newsletter itself. We’ve adopted a new publication model: a Student Editorial Board, which will comprise students from the Land Use Law Center (LULC) at Pace Law School. We kept the group rather small for this first edition, but it will grow as we move toward our next newsletter. Take a moment to meet our brave and capable new Student Editorial Board members on page 8 of this edition. As part of our new affiliation with the students of the LULC, we also have a new column: Student Research Memoranda. Each issue, a student memo (otherwise written for the LULC) will be selected for its quality of authorship and national appeal. This edition’s memo, Knitting Green Infrastructure into the Urban Fabric: An Overview ofMunicipal Policies (page 6), uncovers the keys to success in three of the nation’s best municipal green infrastructure programs. Also among our new columns is I Read it in the Blogs (page 8), created by Newsletter Committee member Jenny Logan, which features a roundup of land use law issues on a particular topic, as reported in recent blogs. This edition’s topic is affordable housing.
With mid‐April fast approaching, we all have one thing on our minds. No, not taxes; the APA National Planning Conference, of course. In the spirit of change and growth, we have some new additions to PLD’s initiatives for the Conference: a Social Event to meet, reconnect, and share, with new and existing PLD members, which will be held at a terrifically cool former speakeasy in Hollywood (details on page 4); and a new Planning & Law Session Track developed by our Curtin Fellow, Abby Kirkbride (page 14). (Speaking of our Curtin Fellow, turn to page 6 to learn more about Abby and her work.) Most importantly, PLD will be hosting our Annual Business Meeting (details page 4), where all members – and potential members – are welcome to come eat, drink, mingle, and learn about some of PLD’s terrific new initiatives, such as the webinar programs spearheaded by our Education & Outreach Committee (page 7). Also at the Annual Meeting, our newly‐elected leadership will take office (details page 2).
Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of our field, PLD recently answered the call from APA’s Divisions Council, which challenged that each Division, in advance of the National Conference, provide a short article relating to one of the APA Divisions’ “Emerging Issues” of interest to both planners and the public: Shrinking Cities, the Changing Face of America, Aging and Livable Communities, Food Systems, and more. In response, PLD submitted two case studies, both of which are also in this newsletter. The first, Urban Farming: Zoning for Growing and Distributing Food in Portland Neighborhoods (page 3), is written by Chair‐Elect Carrie Richter and discusses urban farming and enhanced food systems planning under a series of Portland’s urban food zoning code amendments scheduled for adoption in May 2012. The second, written by long‐time PLD member Don Elliot, Senior Consultant for Clarion Associates, discusses innovative responses to the problems posed by shrinking cities (Getting Real About Shrinking Cities, page 5).
On the topic of answering the call, I return finally to the “lost generation” blog post described earlier. The original post was authored by Associate Professor of Law, Stephen Miller, who thoughtfully concluded by challenging his readers to think of what can be done “to foster the next generation of land use practitioners” and suggested that, whatever the approach, it is incumbent upon all of us to prevent this lost generation of land use lawyers, to ensure that the practitioner field remains robust, and to create opportunities for growth in the formative years of practice (and, I would suggest, beyond). This challenge is of the utmost importance and it is at the heart of the Planning and Law Division. From our Curtin Fellowship and Smith‐Babcock‐Williams Student Writing Competition, which just announced its 29th annual round (details page 5), to our numerous educational and career‐building initiatives, as well as you, our network of experts, PLD is rising to meet this challenge.
