This research guide contains links to primary and secondary sources useful in the study of land use, planning, and zoning law. Also included are pages focused on special topics in land use law.
Practical Guidance (part of Lexis) includes Practice Notes, forms, checklists, drafting notes, etc., for various topics including Real Estate. Some resources are jurisdiction-specific.
Practical Law (part of Westlaw) includes a Local Government Ordinances Toolkit. The toolkit includes general rules of statutory construction and guidelines for wireless facilities ordinances.
Practical Law (part of Westlaw) contains articles addressing land use topics including discussion of substantive issues, articles containing standard documents, standard clauses, and checklists.
Model codes, often proposed by an organization that has studies the land use issues at hand, can be a great jumping off point for your research. They will often be accompanied by some commentary that describes the development of the code, and may list municipalities that are known to have adopted the language in the model code.
Model laws from the NYS Department of State, Office of Planning and Development: Basic Land Use Tools for Resiliency, Wetland and Watercourse Protection Measures, Coastal Shoreline Protection Measures, Management of Floodplain Development, Stormwater Control Measures.
Model Municipal Preservation Law from the Preservation League of New York.Model ordinances for Green Building, Wind Siting and Small Scale Solar from the Columbia Law School, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
First developed by the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board in 2000, and currently updated by consultants to Minnesota GreenStep Cities and by other sources. This website has links to model ordinances under the following categories: Buildings and Lighting, Land Use, Transportation, Environmental Management, and Resilient Economic and Community Development.
We Conserve PA has land use laws, including a collection of model local land use laws and some sample ordinances. Use links at left and search for examples. Includes York County Sustainable Landscaping Model Ordinance.
EPA website that gathers sample ordinances from across the country for the following topics: Aquatic Buffers, Erosion and Sediment Control, Open Space Development, Stormwater Control, Operation and Maintenance, Ilicit Discharges, Source Water Protection, and Miscellaneous Ordinances.
In addition to these collections of model codes, model codes can be found on various websites, drafted by a variety of groups, relating to specific aspects of land use law.
Call Number: KF5698 .F745 2008 ISBN: 1932364188 Publication Date: 1960-1976HeinOnline has documents spanning the drafting of ALI's Model Land Development Code, including the 1976 Complete Text and Commentary.
Call Number: KF5691.A8 G76This guidebook from the American Planning Association is available to read or download from the APA website. (Use link above). Includes a CD-ROM.