On behalf of the Land Use Law Center, we welcome you to the 23rd Annual Alfred B. DelBello Land Use & Sustainable Development Conference. The Annual Conference is a significant educational event in the region, with more than 200 attorneys, business professionals, and local leaders learning about national, regional, and local innovations, challenges, and best practices. At the Annual Conference this year, we will look at how we foster the development of sustainable communities through innovative strategies.
Panelists will explore how we can use planning and regulatory tools to achieve sustainable communities through resilient development, affordable housing studies, and community engagement efforts. At the conference we bestow the Groundbreaker’s Award to a graduate or a group of graduates of the Center’s Land Use Leadership Alliance (LULA) Training Program who have done exemplary work in a community or a region using the types of land use and decision-making tools and techniques taught in the LULA program.
The Founder’s Award Reception, hosted the evening before the conference, honors an individual each year in the name of Theodore W. Kheel, the great American attorney and labor mediator, renowned for his ability to build consensus and resolve conflicts. The Center also bestows its Distinguished Young Attorney Award and John R. Nolon Student Achievement Award at this event.
We are thrilled to conclude the conference with a reception to celebrate the alumni and students of the Land Use Law Center
Thank you for joining us for this exciting event!
PRE-CONFERENCE FOUNDER’S AWARD DINNER
Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Tudor Room at Elisabeth Haub School of Law
ALFRED B. DELBELLO LAND USE & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
Fostering the Development of Sustainable Communities through Innovative Strategies
Friday, December 6, 2024 at 8:00 am
NYS Judicial Institute at Elisabeth Haub School of Law
ABOUT THE LAND USE LAW CENTER
Established in 1993, the Land Use Law Center at Pace University 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 Pace students 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.
Jennie Nolon, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney, Land Use Law Center
Adam L. Wekstein, Esq., Partner, Hocherman Tortorella & Wekstein, LLP
Jessica A. Bacher, Esq., Executive Director, Land Use Law Center
Acceptance of Awards
Prof. John R. Nolon Student Achievement Award
Sophie Coassin, JD and LLM Candidate, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Pace University
The Student Achievement Award was created in the name of Professor John R. Nolon and is presented to a Pace Law graduating student who has excelled in contributing to the mission of the Land Use Law Center.
We are pleased to add Sophie to our list of recipients:
2023 — Gabriella Mickel
2022 — Bailey Andree
Distinguished Young Attorney Award
Anne E. Kline, Esq., Associate, DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr LLP
The Distinguished Young Attorney Award is presented to a Pace Law graduate who worked closely with the Land Use Law Center and has, since graduation, demonstrated excellent service and commitment to land use and real estate law. The award was created on the Center’s 25th anniversary in 2018. We are pleased to add Anne to our list of recipients:
2023 — Michael J. Goonan, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
2022 — Taylor M. Palmer, Cuddy & Feder LLP
2019 — Victoria L. Polidoro, Rodenhausen Chale & Polidoro LLP
2018 — Noelle C. Wolfson, Hocherman Tortorella & Wekstein, LLP
The Founder’s Award was created in the name of Theodore W. Kheel, the great American attorney and labor mediator—renowned for his ability to build consensus and resolve conflicts—who was a major supporter of the Land Use Law Center. The Center bestows this annual award upon an individual or municipality that has worked collaboratively with a community and reinvented democracy to make change happen.
We are pleased to add Geraldine to our list of recipients:
2023 — Michael D. Zarin, Zarin & Steinmetz, LLP
2022 — John R. Nolon, Land Use Law Center, Elisabeth Haub School of Law
2019 — Lester D. Steinman, McCarthy Fingar, LLP
2018 — Richard L. O’Rourke, Keane & Beane P.C.
2017 — Frank S. McCullough, Jr., McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt, LLP
2016 — Robert Feder, Cuddy & Feder, LLP
2015 — Alfred B. DelBello, DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP
2014 — John Saccardi, VHB
2013 — Rose Noonan, Housing Action Council
2012 — City of Newburgh – Land Bank/Revitalization Effort Team
2011 — Town of Clarkstown – Comprehensive Plan team
2010 — Andy Revkin, NY Times
2009 — Pamela R. Esterman, Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C. and Rachel E. Deming , Barry University School of Law
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Reception and Networking
Continue the celebration with Savory Stations and Dessert
Founder’s Award 2024 Recipient
The Land Use Law Center is pleased to honor Geraldine (Gerri) Tortorella with the 2024 Founder’s Award to recognize her for her work in the land use arena. This award is bestowed each year in the name of Theodore W. Kheel, the great American attorney and labor mediator, renowned for his ability to build consensus and resolve conflicts, and who was a major supporter of the Land Use Law Center.
A student of constitutional law, Gerri has a deep respect for and commitment to the protection of private property rights. For more than thirty-seven years, she has represented property owners and prospective owners interested in the development (and redevelopment) of real estate across an array of asset classes throughout the Hudson Valley Region and in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Early in her career as a land use attorney, Gerri learned the importance of striking a balance between private property rights and the legitimate exercise of the police power. She respectfully, but forcefully, advocates for her clients’ rights in the entitlements process and, if circumstances mandate, vindicates their interests at the next level. She also appreciates the merits of efficient and effective resolution of disputes, leading her to favor cooperative problem-solving over protracted confrontations whenever feasible. Her firm’s tag lines – client-centered and solution-oriented – define Gerri’s approach to the law throughout her professional life.
Gerri has had the good fortune to be able to bring her legal training and experience to bear on a number of cases and projects that have profound implications in the fields of affordable housing, medical care for the underserved and the provision of food, clothing and skills training to residents in Northern Westchester County. At a prior firm, Gerri played an instrumental role in the representation of the plaintiff in Continental Building Company, Inc. v. Town of North Salem, 211 A.D.2d 88 (3d Dep’t 1995), lv. denied, 86 N.Y.2d 818 (1995), which extended the doctrine of Berenson v. Town of New Castle, 38 N.Y.2d 102 (1975) and its progeny by holding that a zoning ordinance which fails to meet a municipality’s share of regional and local needs for multi-family and affordable housing is unconstitutional. For almost two decades, Gerri has represented Open Door Family Medical Center, Inc., an Article 28 Health Center, helping the organization establish and expand medical offices for the underserved in communities throughout the Hudson Valley. In the last several years, she has worked with the Community Center of Northern Westchester, Inc., a charitable organization with the mission of addressing food insecurity and assisting community members who suffer from it to regain self-sufficiency and stability, employing a collaborative approach with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and
the Town of Bedford to secure the approvals necessary to expand the Center’s facilities in Katonah.
Gerri is committed to the professional development of other lawyers and professionals in the real estate field. She is proud of her role as a resource to law students and young attorneys from the Elisabeth T. Haub School of Law at Pace University and her firm’s sponsorship of externs and interns from the Law School. Also a source of pride is her commitment to the Urban Land Institute (ULI), an international not-forprofit research and education organization comprised of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts working together to establish standards of excellence in development that help “[s]hape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide” (www.uli. org/about-uli/). Since 2015, Gerri has been an active member of the ULI Westchester/Fairfield District Council, having served for several years on the Advisory Committee and as Co-Chair of several other committees including the Women’s Leadership Initiative. Gerri just recently concluded a twoyear term as one of the Co-Chairs of the District Council, helping to lead the organization in its initiative to expand the inclusionary nature of both its membership and leadership and deliver quality programming. During her career, she has also held leadership roles in the Westchester Women’s Bar Association and the Northern Westchester Bar Association.
In her daily practice, Gerri appears regularly before municipal agencies and boards seeking land use approvals and environmental permits and has handled numerous complex litigation matters related to zoning, land use and environmental law on both the trial and appellate levels. She has lectured and/ or written articles regarding various zoning, environmental law, property rights, and constitutional issues for the Practising Law Institute, Sections of the New York State Bar Association, the Municipal Law Resource Center of Pace University and the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation.
Gerri’s professional accomplishments have been possible only with the support and expertise of her colleagues at Hocherman Tortorella & Wekstein, LLP. Gerri co-founded the firm with partners Henry Hocherman and Adam Wekstein in 2005. Partner Noelle Wolfson, the first recipient of the Distinguished Young Attorney Award in 2018, joined the firm in 2006 after graduating from then Pace Law School. Gerri’s colleagues’ proficiency and commitment to high standards of the practice of law and ethics have been unfailing beacons in her professional voyage.
Gerri is a 1987 graduate of Pace Law School (cum laude), where she published for the Law Review, and a 1984 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross. Hocherman Tortorella & Wekstein, LLP is a full-service real estate firm that offers quality, personalized counsel and pragmatic solutions to corporate, not-for-profit, private and municipal clients in all aspects of zoning and land use, real property transactions and related litigation.
Distinguished Young Attorney Award 2024 Recipient
Annie Kline is an associate at DelBello Donnellan
Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP and focuses her practice on securing land use approvals for development projects throughout Westchester County. She represents landowners, developers and nonprofits on a variety of commercial, mixed-use and residential projects. She also assists her clients on Industrial Development Agency transactions. Annie is a graduate of Pace University School of Law (2012) and also earned her M.S. in Environmental Policy from Bard College (2012) and B.S. from the University of Connecticut (2008). Annie volunteered at the Land Use Law Center throughout her time at Pace Law School and strives to continue the Center’s mission in her
everyday practice. She has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America: “Ones to Watch” for 2024 and 2025.
DelBello Donnellan
Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP (DDWWW) is one of the premier law firms in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley. Our attorneys are a diverse team of highly accomplished practitioners, many with significant experience as leaders in government, business and philanthropy. DDWWW offers clients the depth, sophistication and range of experience most often associated with large national firms with the personal attention that can only be provided by a regional firm, which is why so many businesses and individuals turn to DDWWW for assistance with the most high-profile and transformational real estate development projects in the region.
Prof. John R. Nolon Student Achievement Award 2024 Recipient
Sophie Coassin has produced exceptional work, engaged with all aspects of the Land Use Law Center. In her 1L year, she participated in Professor Jennie Nolon’s summer externship program. She served as a research assistant to Professor Jessica Bacher and Professor Tiffany Zezula and conducted research for both the Land Use Law Center and the Housing Action Council. She published an article supervised by Distinguished Professor Emeritus John Nolon using the public trust doctrine as a method of securing equitable beach access. She is pursuing a Juris Doctorate degree from Pace — where she is ranked second in her class — and a Master’s in Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment. This past summer, Sophie was a summer associate at Zarin & Steinmetz, a leading land use firm in the tri-state area.
While working as a research assistant, she created multiple land use housing policy presentations, wrote monthly Housing Action Council newsletters, helped a municipality create a planning board, and performed countless additional land use-related tasks. She was a member of the original
Climate Resilient Development (CRD) summer team, which launched a two-year-long workshop series. She published a CRD blog on equitable transit-oriented development (eTOD) and is currently leading an eTOD team to find case studies for the final phase of the CRD project – a 300-page framework law. Sophie has consistently demonstrated her exceptional and unique talents, ability to build a project from the ground up, leadership skills to help head projects, and dynamic energy and positive attitude to uplift fellow students and create lively presentations.
Sophie is a Web Editor of the Pace Environmental Law Review and her work involves publishing environmental law blogs for a wide audience. Sophie is also a research assistant for Professor Bustos where she focuses on researching environmental justice in domestic and international climate change litigation. At Yale, Sophie is currently working on a class project with the goal to map out the inequities of New Haven land use and to come up with a zoning code to remedy them. She is also a student in the Environmental Protection Clinic at Yale Law School and is conducting research on the social equity of marine protected areas. She looks forward to completing her degrees next year and pursuing a career in environmental policy and focusing on climate-resilient development in land use and ocean conservation.
The Land Use Law Center’s 23rd Annual
Alfred B. DelBello Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference
Fostering the Development of Sustainable Communities through Innovative Strategies
Friday, December 6, 2024
NYS Judicial Institute at Elisabeth Haub School of Law, 78 North Broadway, White Plains, NY
7:45 – 10:00 am Registration and Continental Breakfast
SPONSORED BY
8:00 – 9:45 am Ethics Sessions
Session 1 – JI-Omni Room
Ethics in Planning: Guiding Principles for Professional Planners
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. 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”.
Peter Feroe, AICP, Vice President, Planning and Land Development, AKRF, Inc.
Ethics in Land Use Practice: Guiding Principles for Attorneys and Land Use Board Members
Ethics Jeopardy! Where Knowing the Questions is Half the Game. There are ethical landmines in everyday municipal practice for attorneys and their clients. This program highlights routine dilemmas in the land use space so that attorneys can spot the issues and consider whether these problems present ethical challenges for themselves, or legal and other regulatory challenges for clients, as well as providing guidance on how to best advise clients. The game format allows attendees to consider their response before the panel discusses the answers/approaches.
Wade Beltramo, Esq., General Counsel, New York Conference of Mayors
Mark Davies, Retired Executive Director, NYC Conflicts of Interest Board
Amy Lavine, Esq., Founder and Principal Attorney, Liberty Street Legal PLLC
Steven G. Leventhal, Esq., Partner, Leventhal, Mullaney & Blinkoff, LLP
Patricia E. Salkin, JD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs and Provost, Graduate and Professional Divisions, Touro University
10:00 – 10:15 am Welcome JI-Lecture Hall
Jessica A. Bacher, Esq., Executive Director, Land Use Law Center
Tiffany B. Zezula , Esq., Deputy Director, Land Use Law Center
10:15 – 10:45 am Opening Keynote Session JI- Lecture Hall
What’s the Deal: Can Privately Owned Public Space
Serve the Public Interest? Lessons from the Field
Privately owned public spaces – plazas, arcades, and other small spaces and parks – have been a staple in cities worldwide since the 1960s. Have they been successful at enhancing the public experience in communities? Can the private sector be counted on to advance the public interest when it comes to public space?
Jerold S. Kayden, Esq., Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Founding Director, Master in Real Estate Program, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
10:45 – 11:00 am Morning Break
11:00–12:20 pm Breakout Sessions
Session 1 – JI-Lecture
Hall
The Importance of Public Engagement: Political Influence and Getting it Right
The Country is faced with increasing temperatures and more violent shifts in weather, ever-growing inequality, and a need for more diverse and affordable housing. In our region, municipalities and local land use boards hold the key to creating change for the better. The authority of the local community is often put to the test when select members of the community employ NIMBYism that may in turn shape local elections or land use initiatives thereby stalling efforts that would help the region move forward. We live in a time where we know to protect the trees, wetlands, birds and the bees. We focus development in locations that have the infrastructure (sewer, water and transportation) to support it but we struggle to get it done. Public engagement is the key to communicating with the majority while working with the minority to move beyond controversy and get it right. Hear from municipal officials, staff, planners, and engagement specialists that have tried, failed and tried again to make change happen. Take home their lessons learned and engagement efforts utilized in planning processes, zoning reform, equity, and community conversations on climate change and housing.
Sabrina D. Charney Hull, AICP, Director of Planning, Town of New Castle
Theresa Colyar, Community Service Coordinator, Washingtonville Housing Alliance
Donald L. Elliott , Esq., FAICP, Senior Consultant, Clarion Associates, LLC
Innovations in Land Use Planning — Cutting Edge Practices and Future Trends
This session presents a panel discussion of how innovations in land use planning have helped to shape local communities in the region, and what trends in the field are on the horizon.
Patrick Cleary, AICP, CEP, PP, LEED AP, CNU, Cleary Consulting
Greg Cutler, AICP, Director of Planning and Economic Development, Village of Port Chester
Kevin A. Kain, AICP, Director of Planning & Sustainability, City of New Rochelle
Linda B. Whitehead, Esq., Partner, McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt LLP
12:20 – 1:00 pm Lunch and Award Presentation JI-Omni Room
Groundbreaker’s Award Recipient
Sabrina D. Charney Hull, AICP, Director of Planning and Climate Smart Communities Coordinator, Town
of New Castle
Sabrina’s journey from the barnyards of Wisconsin to negotiating big deals in Albany is proof that her passion for protecting the environment knows no bounds! Her work on the historic New York City Memorandum of Agreement, designed to safeguard the city’s drinking water, sparked a decades-long collaboration with local governments and kicked off her relationship with the Pace Land Use Law Center. Partnering with John Nolan, she helped launch one of the first LULA (Land Use Leadership Alliance) training programs, guiding community leaders in balancing economic development with watershed protection.
Armed with technical planning skills and a knack for collaboration, Sabrina spent ten years working with municipalities as part of her role in watershed planning at the Westchester County Department of Planning. She quickly realized that the real decision-makers were the local boards, committees, and governments, so she shifted her focus to building consensus and transforming land use as the Town Planner for Somers. In her eight years there, she became a master at fostering relationships with landowners and developers to bring smart, sustainable land use practices to life.
Sabrina then took her talents to New Castle, where she brought a fresh, welcoming approach to development. As the Town’s Stormwater Coordinator, she uses her mediation and team-building
skills to keep New Castle compliant with state environmental standards. She’s also been the lead planner on the $15 million Chappaqua Hamlet revitalization project, and is actively working on plans to build a bridge over the Saw Mill River Parkway. Sabrina’s crowning achievement? Authoring New Castle’s award-winning Comprehensive Plan Update, "A Framework for the Future," which has gained regional recognition for its best practices in land use planning. Despite a bump in the road with form-based zoning in the Chappaqua Hamlet, she bounced back by rallying support for the groundbreaking “Net-Zero Carbon Legislation,” paving the way for greener, more energy-efficient construction, and increasing affordable housing.
She’s now guiding New Castle through important decisions about future land use around the Chappaqua Train Station, balancing today’s needs (housing, environmental protection, transportation) with the community’s vision for the future. For Sabrina, it’s all about ensuring everyone’s voice is heard—and using her unique skills to shape the town’s land use decisions. When she’s not busy shaping communities, Sabrina teaches the next generation of leaders about climate change, water quality, and planning as an adjunct professor at Purchase University. She lives in Newtown, Connecticut with her husband Gordon, daughter Sophie and son Spencer, making the most of her busy, fulfilling life.
1:00 – 1:45 am Keynote
Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity
Why are so many cities and towns across North America going broke? Our roads are deteriorating. Our governments are in debt. No matter how much we increase them, our taxes aren’t enough to fix it all. And no one seems to be able to agree on how we got here—much less how to change the course. This isn’t just about numbers on a budget. This is about the fate of the communities we love most, and the real people that live there. This is about how to give our citizens, today and tomorrow, a chance at the future they deserve. If we want American cities to be strong and resilient, we need to change everything about the way we plan and build our places.
In this presentation, we explain, in plain language, how so many American cities have found themselves in decline after decades of “growth.” And then we show you a revolutionary way forward that could create enduring prosperity—if we just have the courage to change our minds.
Chris Allen, Director of Events
and Partnerships, Strong Towns
SPONSORED BY 2:00 – 3:20 pm Breakout Sessions
Session 1 – JI-Lecture Hall
Housing Needs Studies and Plans
This panel will focus on the process for creating a housing plan, including the development and understanding of a localities specific housing needs. Planning for more housing is an important step in creating a productive community conversation around affordability in order to grow and diversity. Housing can also be a strong force that connects to other important community values. Housing plans can provide a guide to municipalities regarding land use actions and strategies needed to meet the needs of current and future residents. Come learn from various municipalities in New York who have undertaken housing studies and learn more about the process, data, and information found within each plan. Discussion will be had on public engagement strategies deployed to include
JI-Lecture Hall
a diverse group of citizens into the process and ways in which housing plans have been utilized to understand and respond to demographic, racial, and socioeconomic needs.
Adam Bosch, President & CEO, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress
Karen D’Attore, Village Manager, Village of Ossining
Debra Gitterman, Village Trustee, Village of Philmont
Melissa Kaplan-Macey, Chief Initiative Officer, Centers for Housing Opportunity, The Housing Collective
Tiffany B. Zezula, Esq., Deputy Director, Land Use Law Center, Elisabeth Haub School of Law
Session 2 – JI-Omni Room
Let’s Get a Pulse Check: Community Preparedness and Resilience
This session will cover what every community needs to better prepare for storms and flooding. Presenters will cover mapping tools, planning resources, and what we can learn from the private sector
Samuel J. Capasso, III, Esq., Community Infrastructure Resilience Branch Chief, FEMA and Adjunct Professor of Law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
LaKendra McNair, SVP, Head of Climate Resilient Communities, Office of Sustainability, M&T Bank
Helen Wiley, Disaster Preparedness Program Director, SBP Disaster Resilience and Recovery for Vulnerable Communities
Lessons from Luminaries of Land Law: Latest and Greatest Decisions
Once again, the shamans of land use law, some who have wandered in from the far corners of the world, like Florida, to divine the future by inspecting entrails, reading palms, poking at tea leaves, thumbing through Tarot cards, and sometimes actually reading all those boring cases. They will tell you what happened, what they as pontificators extraordinaire think it all means (these people are big thinkers), and what you need to watch out for! To top it off, this blatant bunkum and balderdash will be more entertaining than watching some fast food restaurant applicant seeking a sign variance completely making up bogus claims of “practical difficulty and unnecessary hardship.”
Carol N. Brown, Esq., Professor of Law, University of Richmond School of Law
Donald L. Elliott , Esq., FAICP, Senior Consultant, Clarion Associates, LLC
Dwight H. Merriam, Esq., FAICP, Attorney at Law
Michael Allan Wolf, Esq., Professor of Law & Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Michael D. Zarin, Esq., Partner, Zarin & Steinmetz
5: 00 – 6:00 pm
SPONSORED BY
Greenberg Traurig proudly supports the Land Use Law Center’s 23rd Annual Alfred B. DelBello Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference.
Congratulations to this year’s award winners.
With five decades of business-driven legal experience and backed by more than 700 real estate lawyers firmwide, GT’s New York Land Use team represents clients who require guidance and representation with zoning map changes, obtaining special permits, development rights transactions, and landmark approvals, with support from a team experienced in government law and policy. GT is the only global law firm with o ces across the New York region in Westchester, Manhattan, New Jersey, Long Island, and Albany.
United States, Europe and the Middle East, Asia, Latin America
Geraldine Tortorella
A woman whose hard work has made her the cornerstone of our family, and a pioneer in Westchester County land use planning, whose success is well deserved. You inspire us every day, and we are so proud of you.
The Tortorella Family
Stephen, Nicholas, Matthew, Kathryn, and Rigley
Congratulations to the 2024 Honorees
Geraldine N. Tortorella, Esq
Founder’s AwA rd
Anne E. Kline, Esq.
distinguished Young Attorne Y AwA rd
Sophie Coassin
P roF essor John r . nolon student Achievement AwA rd
Sabrina D. Charney Hull, AICP
groundbre A ker ’ s AwA rd
Jessica, Tiffany, John, Jennie, Tom, Michael, and Ann Marie
We are thrilled to join the Center in honoring our friends and colleagues Gerri, Anne, and Sabrina as well as our (hopefully) future colleague, Sophie.
www.akrf.com
Photo: Hudson Fjord Trail
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University offers outstanding programs in many fields of legal practice, including the nation’s top ranked Environmental Law program. In addition to the traditional JD, we offer accelerated and flex scheduling options, three advanced certificates, numerous joint degrees, and graduate degrees including LLM and SJD Programs. We continue to build on our historic strength of training practice-ready lawyers through our field placement programs and nationally renowned clinics and centers.
Congratulations to our friend, G Gerri Tortorella on her well-deserved and prestigious honor of The Founders Award Bravo!
B
Bob Davis & Whitney Singleton
SINGLETON, DAVIS & SINGLETON PLLC
WESTFAIR PUBLICATIONS
FOUNDER’S AWARD
Geraldine N. Tortorella, Esq.
DISTINGUISHED YOUNG ATTORNEY AWARD
Anne E. Kline, Esq.
Congratulates for their outstanding achievements
Dee DelBello
PROFESSOR JOHN R. NOLON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Sophie Coassin
SABRINA D. CHARNEY HULL AICP
Services of the Center
As part of its mission to help municipalities achieve sustainable development, the Land Use Law Center works with cities, towns, and villages to identify and remove obstacles to sound land use practices and decision-making. Linked to its role as an educational institution, the Center can provide information, training, and recommendations that allow staff, policy makers, and boards to frame their own decisions on issues they face. The Center offers communities a suite of services that include:
1
Training members of the local legislature, zoning board, and planning board;
2
Training local staff on citizen participation and consensusbuilding;
3 Offering recommendations regarding planning and zoning strategies;
4 Assisting in the design of sustainability programs;
5 Conducting educational workshops for local citizens;
6 Reviewing drafts of plans and zoning provisions prepared by staff;
7 Providing research and strategy reports on any land use topic; and
8 Assisting policy makers in explaining and selecting development and conservation strategies.
THESE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL LAND USE TOPICS, INCLUDING:
• Local Environmental Law and Natural Resource Conservation
• Green Building Program
• Streamlining the Development Process
• Local Wind and Solar Energy Regulation
• Urban Revitalization/ Redevelopment Readiness
• Sea Level Rise and Resiliency
• Fair and Affordable Housing
• Comprehensive Planning
• Vacant and Distressed Property Remediation
• Zoning
• Transit Oriented Development
• Urban Agriculture
• Sustainable Site, Building and Neighborhood Development
