The Land Use Law Center’s 13th Annual
Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference
Transitioning Communities
Agenda December 5, 2014
THANK YOU TO OUR CONFERENCE SPONSORS BREAKING GROUND SPONSORS
WELL GROUNDED SPONSORS
BREAKFAST SPONSOR
LUNCH SPONSOR
GAINING GROUND SPONSORS
RECEPTION SPONSORS
NEW GROUND SPONSORS
MORNING BREAK SPONSOR
AFTERNOON BREAK SPONSOR
The Land Use Law Center’s 13th Annual
Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference
Transitioning Communities WELCOME The Land Use Law Center’s annual Land Use & Sustainable Development Conference is a significant educational event in the region, with more than 250 attorneys, business professionals, and local leaders learning about national, regional, and local challenges and innovations. This year’s theme is Transitioning Communities. This year’s conference will discuss the opportunities and challenges that municipalities in the region are being faced with, such as the changing demographic pattern, changing community needs, the impact of a shrinking or growing pattern of development, and the transition between community environments. The Conference will highlight how communities are transitioning towards sustainability, disaster recovery, and revitalization. Each session will aim to address the needs of communities already in transition, as well as the idea of how to proactively transition toward something new. Thank you for joining us for this exciting event!
ABOUT THE LAND USE LAW CENTER Established in 1993, the Land Use Law Center at Pace Law School is dedicated to fostering the development of sustainable communities through the promotion of innovative land use strategies and collaborative decision-making techniques, as well as leadership training, research, education, and technical assistance. Through its many programs, the Center offers municipalities, land use leaders, citizens, advocates, planners, attorneys, real estate industry leaders, and other land use professionals assistance that enables them to achieve their development and conservation goals at the local and regional levels. Its activities provide opportunities for students of Pace Law School to gain in-depth, practical experience that allows them to become practice-ready attorneys serving private, public, and non-governmental clients. The Land Use Law Center offers extensive research and consulting services; conferences, seminars, and clinics; law school courses; practitioner and citizen-leader training programs; continuing legal education programs; multimedia resources; and frequent publications on sustainable land use and community development.
Learn more about the Land Use Law Center at www.law.pace.edu/landuse or connect with us on our social media pages. See Center updates, photos, videos, event information, and more. Look for us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @LandUseLC.
8:00 – 10:00 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 – 10:00 am
Land Use Workshops
Planning Ethics in a Changing Environment (for Professional Planners)
JI-205
Join in this session and learn about the AICP Code of Ethics and how it affects planners and the planning profession. Participate in an engaging discussion as the speakers address the implications of the Code through the use of sample ethical scenarios and personal anecdotes. Examine underlying questions of ethics that frequently pose dilemmas for practicing planners in the political context in which they operate and the impacts that may have on the “public interest”.
Gina Martini, AICP, Senior Project Manager, VHB, Inc. Kelly Murphy, AICP, Director of Planning for the NY Region, VHB, Inc. Ralph R. Willmer, FAICP, NCICS, Senior Planner/Project Manager, VHB, Inc. Hot Topics in Land Use – Transitioning Communities JI-Omni Room
Alternative energy sources, climate change, rapid advancements in mobile communications, and ethics are but a few of the hot topics routinely in the news. New York’s municipalities are in various stages of transition and this session will explore these hot topics in the context of federal and state policies and laws that cross-sect at the local level. Further, this panel will review SEQRA’s new forms and obligations to assess climate changing effects and future regulatory changes. Lastly, the panel will discuss where the lines are drawn for lobbying, ex parte communications, and permissible communications in administrative proceedings. This panel will explore these and other hot topics in the law with a current analysis of numerous federal and state environmental and communications laws, implications of New York State’s lobbying and local ethics laws, and applications of SEQRA.
Christopher B. Fisher, Esq., Partner, Cuddy & Feder LLP Charles J. Gottlieb, Esq., Associate, Cuddy & Feder LLP Anthony F. Morando, Esq., Associate, Cuddy & Feder LLP
10:00 – 10:10 am
Opening Remarks
JI-Lecture Hall
Tiffany B. Zezula, Esq., Deputy Director, Land Use Law Center
10:10 – 10:45 am
Plenary Session
JI-Lecture Hall
People Habitat: Eight Ways to Think about Greener, Healthier Communities F. Kaid Benfield, Special Counsel for Urban Solutions, Natural Resources Defense Council
Sustainable land use depends wholly on our ability to build, improve, and maintain sustainable cities and suburbs. They are where 86% of Americans now live and work. But what do we need to know to go about the task? In this opening session, longtime sustainability leader Kaid Benfield will put several provocative ideas on the table to inform our thinking for the rest of the day, including why Americans don’t walk more, how so-called “green” developments are sometimes no such thing, how cities must interact with nature, why cities may not matter in all the ways we think, and why the things we can’t measure may be more important than those we can.
10:45 – 11:00 am
Break
11:00–12:15 pm
Breakout Sessions
Session 1 – JI-Lecture Hall Unlocking the Value of Hudson Valley Main Streets
Changing demographics and a hot New York City real estate market are stimulating a new market demand for urban living throughout the metropolitan New York region. Meanwhile, the Hudson Valley, from its small towns to its larger cities, offers an eclectic mix of main streets that are ripe for urban infill development. This session identifies urban planning strategies that localities can use to unlock the value of these historic mixed-use corridors and meet the rising regional demand for multi-family housing and transit-oriented development. Hosted by two urban revitalization experts with extensive experience working in the Hudson Valley, the session will be structured as an interactive dialogue rather than a formal presentation. The session is ideal for economic development strategists and land use practitioners working on downtown revitalization projects of all scales.
Kevin Dwarka, J.D., Ph.D., Managing Principal, Kevin Dwarka Land Use & Economic Consulting Melissa Kaplan-Macey, AICP, PP, Principal, Collaborative Planning Studio
Session 2 – JI-205 The New York Sun Initiative
Local solar initiatives are rapidly evolving and the opportunities for local renewable energy incentives to meet a municipality’s sustainability, economic development, and energy independence goals are energizing. In order to harness these benefits, communities need to address solar energy in their local plans and regulations. Come learn more about New York’s push to become more solar friendly, and discuss the opportunities that can increase the development of solar energy at the local level.
Christina Becker-Birck, Senior Consultant, Meister Consultants Group, Inc. David M. Morley, AICP, Senior Research Associate, Planning Advisory Service Coordinator/Coeditor, Zoning Practice, American Planning Association Leo A. W. Wiegman, President, Croton Energy Group Inc. Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice and Director, Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School
MODERATOR: Michael B. Gerrard,
Session 3 – Ottinger Hall-02 Technology and Data for Transitioning Communities Technology continues to change the way planning and law is conducted. Municipal officials and their staff are using technology to improve productivity, reduce costs, and streamline their processes. Furthermore, municipalities are finding new ways to engage their citizens in the planning process and in community decisions, as more and more of them, have access to online information. Learn more about how technology and an open form of government affect municipal planning for transitioning communities.
Ben Berkowitz, CEO & Founder, SeeClickFix Mark Frater, MBA, BIE, President, LeanFirm Inc. Mark Headd, Developer Evangelist, Accela, Inc. Doug Leeper, Consultant, Code Enforcement Solutions MODERATOR: Tiffany
12:15 – 2:00 pm
B. Zezula, Esq., Deputy Director, Land Use Law Center Lunch – Keynote and Award Presentation JI-Omni Room
Luncheon Keynote Address The Future of Parks and Public Space Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, Commissioner, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Parks and public spaces are no longer just nice amenities to compliment a city’s landscape. Parks are public spaces should no longer be isolated green spaces disconnected from the city’s built environment. After a 150-year history in the United States, parks have evolved from elegant European gardens for reflection, to designed public spaces like Central Park, to the recreation filled spaces of the Robert Moses era. Parks and public spaces have become vital assets to improve the livability, quality of life, physical and mental health and in some cases economic well-being of a community. Parks and public spaces are for people and not just green spaces. As the urban areas become more populated, what is the future of parks and public spaces? How can we build a park system in the 21st century that is equitable, innovative, safe and well-maintained?
2:00 – 3:15 pm
Breakout Sessions
Session 1 – JI-Lecture Hall You Can Get There From Here – The Importance of TOD and Overcoming Barriers to Its Implementation This panel, sponsored by the TOD Line website published by the Land Use Law Center, will highlight the economic and environmental importance of transit-oriented development (TOD) to the greater New York metropolitan region and will discuss agency and municipal efforts to clear hurdles to the development of TOD projects.
Larry Gould, Principal, Nelson Nygaard Amanda Kennedy, Connecticut State Director, Regional Plan Association Justin Lapatine, Partner, Public Affairs, Global Strategy Group MODERATOR: Robert
Paley, Director of TOD, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Session 2 – JI-305 Legal Neighborhoods and the Public Laws that Define Them There are several types of “legal neighborhoods” that cover a range of current and critical land use issues. The term can include: an environmental justice area, an energy conservation zoning district, a Business Improvement District, a Transit Station Master Plan area, a development of buildings certified under LEED-ND, a HUD Opportunity Area to affirmatively further fair housing, a traditional urban renewal area, or an overlay zoning district configured to protect environmental functions or promote green infrastructure. Panelists will discuss this full list of legal neighborhoods, the public law that defines them, and the benefits that can be achieved by understanding and improving the laws that communities adopt that define and affect legal neighborhoods.
Steven R. Miller, Associate Professor of Law and Director, Economic Development Clinic, University of Idaho College of Law-Boise; Commissioner, Boise City Planning and Zoning Commission Graham Trelstad, AICP, Senior Vice President, AKRF, Inc. MODERATOR: John R. Nolon, Esq., Of Counsel, Land Use Law Center
Session 3 – Ottinger Hall – 201 Rising Waters and Storm Resiliency This Panel will focus on a number of practical strategies for creating resilient communities that can better withstand storm events, and the rising waters hat attend sea level rise, storm surges, and frequent flooding. Participants in different, but inter-connected, aspects of Governor Cuomo’s NY Rising Community Reconstruction program will discuss several timely and relevant issues, based on experiences with Sandy, Irene and Lee—including, the role of planning; green infrastructure; Smart Growth; legal issues pertaining to retreat and retrenchment strategies; natural shorelines; and community-/stakeholder-driven resiliency planning. The NY Rising community of Sidney, NY will be featured for its bold and innovative approach to storm resiliency, hazard mitigation and long-term land use planning.
Lisa Bova-Hiatt, General Counsel, Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery Matt Millea, Deputy Secretary of State, Office of Planning and Development, NYS Department of State John Redente, Co-Chair, Sidney NY Rising Committee MODERATOR: Paul Beyer, Director of Smart Growth, NYS Department of State, Office of Planning and Development
3:15 – 3:30 pm
Break
3:30 – 4:45 pm
Breakout Sessions
Session 1 – JI-Lecture Hall Land Use & Climate Change Planning & Regulation, 20 Years After Lucas This panel will discuss the evolution of climate change thinking and land use planning since the time of the Lucas case. It will cover a series of U.S. Supreme Court regulatory takings cases that greatly affect both the local development review and approval process and its substance. At issue are how these cases affect the ability of local legislatures and planning boards to impose conditions on private sector development without running afoul of the standards articulated in the Penn Central, Lucas, Nollan, Dolan, and Koontz cases. Panelists will discuss the extent to which, and the manner by which, local boards can impose on private development the costs incurred by the community as a direct result of that development. The cases to be discussed affect the extent to which development can be limited, the impact fees that can be imposed on it, and the negotiations that can take place during the local decision-making process.
John R. Nolon, Esq., Of Counsel, Land Use Law Center Sean F. Nolon, Esq., Associate Professor of Law and Director, Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, Vermont Law School David S. Silverman, Esq., Partner, Ancel, Glick, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Krafthefer, P.C. Molly Stuart, Esq., Associate, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Session 2 – Ottinger Hall – 101 Sustaining Sustainability: The Next Little Thing A number of Westchester municipalities have recently adopted sustainability plans, and the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation (WMPF) has recognized three of them with planning achievement awards based both on their processes and their products. What has happened in those communities after the initial excitement of completing the plans has waned? What combination of “little things” have the champions of those plans put in place since their adoption to help achieve their broad sustainability goals and objectives and how has that been working? Representatives from New Rochelle, Greenburgh and Bedford, as well as a representative of NYSERDA, will describe their experiences and challenges in sustaining sustainability within New York communities.
Nina Arron, Director of Planning and Sustainability, Department of Development, City of New Rochelle Mary Beth Kass, Town of Bedford Thomas Madden, AICP, Director of Economic Development, City of Stamford, CT Jennifer T. Manierre, CEM, LEED AP ND, Associate Project Manager, Energy Efficiency Services, NYSERDA MODERATOR: Andrew Tung, ASLA, Esq., LEED AP, Divney Tung Schwalbe, LLP and President, Westchester Municipal Planning Federation
Session 3 – JI-Omni Room 10 Steps to Creating a Conversation: Community Design for Affordable Homes and Sustainable Places Community leaders and citizens of Westchester County’s municipalities have been working hard in recent years to generate a public conversation for a local and regional vision of thriving, beautiful, sustainable and diverse communities that integrate affordable homes. The challenge of following through on a vision that includes affordable homes is often stymied by a range of issues, such as a misconception and lack of transparency over the impacts of new development and the permitting processes associated with development. The Community Design Institutes, held as two full-day workshops in Westchester, demonstrated a new paradigm for a public conversation by mediating the concerns and perspectives of a variety of stakeholders through design and data in a modeling exercise that provides both visualization and live feedback on development scenarios. This panel will describe the Community Design Institute approach, the software platform it utilizes, and the feedback of two participants at the workshops.
Michael S. Blau, Village Administrator, Village of Tarrytown Adam Lubinsky, PhD, AICP, Managing Principal, W X Y architecture + urban design William Morrish, Professor, The New School Rose Noonan, Executive Director, Housing Action Council, Inc.
4:45–6:00 pm
Reception – JI-Lobby
GROUNDBREAKER’S AWARD RECIPIENT
Marcus J. Molinaro Dutchess County Executive The Land Use Law Center is happy to announce that this year’s recipient of its Groundbreaker’s Award is County Executive Marcus J. Molinaro. The Groundbreaker’s Award is given to a graduate of the Center’s Land Use Leadership Alliance (LULA) Training Program who has done exemplary work in a community or region using the types of land use and decision-making tools and techniques taught in the LULA program. County Executive Molinaro was selected from a prestigious group of other past LULA graduates nominated for this award. Mr. Molinaro was elected as Dutchess County’s 7th County Executive in November 2011. At 36, he took office as the youngest County Executive in county history. He was first elected to public office at the age of 18 in 1994, serving on Village of Tivoli Board of Trustees. In 1995, he became the youngest mayor in the United States. It was during this time that Marc attended the Land Use Leadership Alliance Training Program. During the graduation ceremony, Mark told his fellow graduates that the program had changed his attitude about being mayor. When he came, he said he was nearly burned out from “putting out brush fires.” Because of the program, he was returning home refreshed because he understood that he a different role: that of stimulating dialogue about problems and “building community one conversation at a time.” It was these words, building communities one conversation at a time that would later be etched on every LULA plaque distributed over the next 20 years to over 3,000 LULA graduates across 6 states.
Marc was re-elected mayor five times and elected four times to the Dutchess County Legislature. In 2006, he brought his passion for public service to Albany when elected to represent the 103rd District in the New York State Assembly. Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed him to serve on the Governor’s Mandate Relief Redesign Team. Marc has been leader on Open Space Protection and Farmland Preservation, an advocate to preserve the Hudson River Valley Greenway and a supporter of the Greenway Compact. As Dutchess County Executive, he has been committed to core leadership principles of Focus, Inclusion, Logic and Fairness to best meet the needs of county residents. Marc has been active in numerous community and civic organizations. In 2010, he was honored with the VV Anderson Award for Community Service by the Anderson Center for Autism. In 2012, the readers of Hudson Valley Magazine voted Molinaro “Best Politician” in the Hudson Valley region. In 2013, he was appointed to the Greenway Heritage Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley by the New York State Senate. Through the County Executive Molinaro’s dedication to public service and his efforts in communication and collaboration between regional partners and stakeholders on numerous land use issues, Mr. Molinaro has been able to enhance the economic and environmental sustainability of the Dutchess County region.
FOUNDERS AWARD RECIPIENT
John J. Saccardi VHB, Inc.
The Theodore W. Kheel Center on the Resolution of Environmental Interest Disputes was launched in April 2008 to train lawyers and local leaders in environmental and land use dispute resolution. Located at the Land Use Law Center on the Pace Law School campus in White Plains, New York, the Kheel Center aims to promote the use of non-traditional forums to resolve environmental and land disputes. To further this mission, the Kheel Center bestows an annual Founder’s Award upon an individual or municipality that has worked collaboratively with a community and reinvented democracy to make change happen. The Kheel Center and Land Use Law Center are pleased to honor John Saccardi with the 2014 Founder’s Award to recognize his work in furthering sustainable planning and development in the region. During his illustrious practice, John exemplified the type of collaboration and spirit that the Kheel Center celebrates. Both Centers were proud to have worked with John, who assisted numerous times in training programs, executive roundtable discussions, and conferences, volunteering his extensive planning and land use expertise. John spent his entire 46 year planning career based in Westchester, providing services primarily to communities and developers throughout the Hudson Valley and on Long Island. The signature features of his work can be summarized in two words: “balance” and “achievement.” Caring both about the quality of a development’s design as well as its development potential, John sought to guide projects in a manner that made them feasible economically while minimizing possible negative impacts on their surroundings. Thus, he was respected and sought after both by communities for assistance in planning for their futures and by property owners seeking to craft feasible and approvable plans. Succeeding at both is a testament
to John’s ability to see both sides of a project and to use that understanding to reach a consensus…not always easy in this part of the world. John played a lead role in the Central Avenue Rezoning, Comprehensive Plans for White Plains, New Rochelle, Rockland and Orange Counties, the Village of Highland Falls and Town of Highlands among many others; those involved in these engagements and his work on promoting specific developments can testify to the countless positive impacts of his approach. The second word - achievement - helps to explain why John was so often able to reach consensus in this fractious business. His focus was on achieving good projects, not in waving a banner proclaiming the correctness of his position. Especially in the area of affordable housing, something he felt deeply about, his focus was on getting projects approved, funded, and built. And that he did, in Westchester working with the Community Housing Resource Center and numerous community leaders, and on Long Island where his work in Community Development and related programs resulted in thousands of new and rehabilitated housing units. John’s ability to forge working relationships among various public and private entities was also reflected in his work on the reuse of major properties, such as the former psychiatric hospital campuses in Rockland, Dutchess and Nassau Counties. When the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation, of which John had been a long-time board member, presented him with its President’s Award earlier this year, it was noted that John had been a mentor not only to those who worked for him but also for the many municipal officials, developers and other professionals who had the opportunity to work with him; even those who found themselves on the opposite side of the negotiating table. As a result, John’s legacy of thoughtful and effective planning will live on.
CONFERENCE ADVISORS Paul Beyer Director of Smart Growth NYS Department of State Division of Local Government Judith Breselor, AICP Executive Director New York Planning Federation Bennett Brooks Senior Mediator Consensus Building Institute David L. Callies Benjamin A. Kudo Professor of Law University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law Jean Carroon, FAIA, LEED AP Principal-Design, Sustainability, Preservation Goody Clancy & Associates, Inc. Jeanne Allen Carswell, LEED® AP BD+C, ND LEED® Certification Reviewer Green Building Certification Institute Jason J. Czarnezki Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law Pace University School of Law John Dalzell, AIA, LEED AP+BD&C, ND Senior Architect Boston Redevelopment Authority Nestor M. Davidson Professor of Law Director, Urban Law Center Fordham Law School John C. Dernbach Distinguished Professor of Law and CoDirector, Environmental Law Center Widener Law - Harrisburg Campus Victor Dover, FAICP, LEED-AP, CNUAccredited Principal Dover, Kohl & Partners Donna Drewes, PP/AICP Co-Director Sustainability Institute, The College of NJ Kevin Dwarka,J.D.,Ph.D. Managing Principal Kevin Dwarka LLC
Don Elliott, FAICP Senior Consultant Clarion Associates Peter B. Fleischer Executive Director Empire State Future Michael B. Gerrard, Esq. Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice and Director, Center for Climate Change Law Columbia Law School Lin Harmon Assistant Dean, Environmental Programs Pace University School of Law Christopher Jones Vice President for Research Regional Plan Association Peter Kasabach Executive Director New Jersey Future David Kay Extension Associate Cornell Local Government Program Cornell University David Kooris, AICP Director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development City of Bridgeport Alan Mallach, FAICP Senior Fellow Center for Community Progress Jennifer T. Manierre, CEM, LEED AP ND Associate Project Manager, Energy Efficiency Services NYSERDA Dwight H. Merriam, Esq. Partner Robinson & Cole, LLP Stephen R. Miller Associate Professor of Law University of Idaho College of Law - Boise Jessica Cogan Millman, LEED AP ND Chair, Location and Planning Technical Advisory Group USGBC
Arthur C. Nelson, Ph.D., FAICP Director, Metropolitan Research Center, College of Architecture + Planning University of Utah Lois A. New Acting Director Office of Climate Change New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Richard L. Oram Chairman Fund for the Environment & Urban Life Hari M. Osofsky Professor 2013-14 Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs Faculty Director, Energy Transition Lab Director, Joint Degree Program in Law, Science & Technology Faculty Member, Conservation Biology Graduate Program Adjunct Professor, Department of Geography, Environment and Society Fellow, Institute on the Environment University of Minnesota Law School Uma Outka Associate Professor University of Kansas School of Law Andrew C. Revkin Dot Earth blogger, The New York Times Senior Fellow Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies Patricia E. Salkin, Esq. Dean, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center Touro College Joseph Schilling Consultant Randall E. Solomon Co-Director Sustainability Institute, The College of NJ Aaron Welch, LEED AP Senior Planner Raimi + Associates Prof. Michael Allan Wolf Professor of Law and Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law University of Florida Levin College of Law
Protecting the Environment Through Land Use Law: Standing Ground By John R. Nolon John R. Nolon’s Protecting the Environment Through Land Use Law: Standing Ground takes a close look at the historical struggle of local governments to balance land development with natural resource conservation. This book updates and expands on his four previous books, which established a comprehensive framework for understanding the many ways that local land use authority can be used to preserve natural resources and environmental functions at the community level. Standing Ground describes in detail how localities are responding to new challenges, including the imperative that they adapt to and help mitigate climate change and create sustainable neighborhoods. This body of work emphasizes the critical importance of law in protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development. Nolon looks at the legal foundations of local environmental law within the federal legal system, how traditional land use techniques can be used to protect the environment, and innovative and flexible methods for protecting fragile environmental areas and for making urban neighborhoods livable. Standing Ground is both a call to action—challenging readers to consider how local law and policy can augment state and federal conservation efforts—and a celebration of the valuable role local governments play in protecting our environment. “When it comes to the subject of local environmental law, John Nolon is a passionate, inspirational, and authoritative guide and teacher. The rest of us—lawyers, planners, professors, judges, public officials, and citizen activistshave all benefited from his insights and have been challenged to think carefully and creatively about the ways in which local law and policy can augment and improve upon federal and state efforts to protect our fragile environment from a growing number of threats.” —Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
To order, call 1(800) 313-WEST, or visit www.eli.org or westacademic.com Price $69.95 • 628 pp. ELI members receive a 15% discount on all ELI Press and West Academic publications.
78 North Broadway White Plains, NY 10603 914-422-4034 landuse@law.pace.edu