Northwest Indiana Forum’s Post

#RoseLawGroup land use attorney Sam DeMoss examines how a new Arizona law could impact development in municipalities across the state. Need to know: Which municipalities does the new law apply to? What kind of properties qualify? How does it impact parking, density, setback, and design requirements? Are there properties that can be excluded from this new law? DeMoss provides the answers to those and other questions about this new law that aims to utilize development areas that have struggled in order to address housing shortages for a growing state. Read it exclusively in RLGR: https://bit.ly/3ZHDhgd

This was a great team effort between Jesse Kanson-Benanav, Molly Rose Goodman, Jonathan Berk, John Infranca, and Justin Saif, in support of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities's position in the MBTA Communities case now at the SJC. Here are the cliff notes: 1. Surprise, surprise, but Massachusetts has a severe housing affordability and supply crisis. 2. Restrictive and exclusionary zoning by municipalities plays a significant role in increasing housing costs and restricting supply. 3. Encouraging multi-family housing is good public policy, in part, because it prevents outmigration and improves housing affordability, which come with all sorts of local economic benefits. 4. The MBTA Communities Act, relatively speaking, is a modest zoning reform that will have significant and positive impacts. You can access and read our brief in a few ways: at the link below to Abundant Housing's press release; going to the public SJC docket in this case (https://lnkd.in/eUZUwN6a); or e-mail me and ask for a copy (ssn@rose-law.net). Happy reading!

Here are some insights on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Sheetz, and what it could mean for land development in Washington State, on Davis Wright Tremaine LLP's #DWTDirt Blog.

Built-to-rent and multi-generational housing may be the key to expanding housing options in fast-growing suburban and exurban areas, but very few local zoning codes offer a clear path to building these housing units at scale. HP Attorneys founder Stephen Hankin, who has decades of experience in land use and zoning law, offers this article from the American Planning Association: https://loom.ly/WioAP0E

Breaking News: Colorado's New ADU Law Revolutionizes Housing Supply! Discover how Colorado is addressing its limited housing supply with a groundbreaking bill that allows for the construction of ADUs. Learn how this new law impacts property owners and unlocks opportunities for additional living spaces. #ColoradoHousingRevolution #ADULaw #AffordableHousing #PropertyOwners #HousingOpportunities #ColoradoRealEstate #HomeExpansion #HousingSupply #ADUConstruction #HousingLegislation

What is a material planning consideration? In this insightful article by Anne Gerzon, Principal Lawyer in our Planning & Highways Team, discover how one recent appeal challenged Cambridgeshire County Council's decision to refuse an application - a must-read for all planning professionals. #planningappeal #localauthorities #pathfinderlegal

This is a very bad idea, in my opinion. It would be best to split the lot and create a separate fee simple ADU/lot. Otherwise, the main homeowner usesthe ADU as a rental unit, a home business space, a guest house, or a home for family members such as an elderly adult or young adult saving money before entirely leaving the nest. The only reason Cali is doing this is to increase density in HOAs (very common in CA) and other predominantly single family neighborhoods. This condoization of ADUs policy benefits non-resident investor-owners (and corporations) more than it helps current homeowners.

Mind blown during webinar by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences on "Achieving Civil Justice." The all-star panel featured Martha Minow, Daniel B. Rodriguez, Judge Diane P. Wood, John Levi, and Rebecca Sandefur, who described the four "Ts" of civil justice work: TIMELY, TARGETED, TRUSTWORTY, AND TRANSPARENT. One example hit home for me: The right to counsel in housing court, while a crucial advancement for tenant protection, sometimes misses the deeper issue: most tenants simply need a safe, habitable home or access to a rental assistance program to pay rental arrears. They don't actually want or need to navigate complex legal proceedings. When tenants face issues like lack of heat, mold, pest infestations, or rental arrears, their primary goal isn't to participate in litigation - it's to get these problems fixed quickly and efficiently. The right to counsel approach assumes that lawyers are the answer in a "one size fits all" approach. In fact, while lawyers are essential in some cases, they are not necessary in others. And a lawyer-only solution is very difficult to scale and maintain. Let's think about more upstream solutions. We should be investing equal energy in creating systems that prevent housing issues from escalating to the point where legal intervention becomes necessary. We need a "Yes, and...," approach, not an "either/or." This calls to mind the analogy offered by Richard Susskind of the Black and Decker executive telling his employees that they sell holes, not drills. Lawyers are drills. Holes are the solutions. Sometimes lawyers create the solutions. Sometimes they cant. We should be thinking about solutions. #rtc #accesstojustice #righttocounsel

To avoid luxurious lolling by local governments, the Legislature included mandatory deadlines in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, which governs municipal regulation of zoning, subdivision and land development within the commonwealth. In their recent article in The Legal Intelligencer Attorneys Robert Max Junker and Anna Skipper Jewart explain how the MPC sets forth strict requirements for when and how municipalities make decisions on land use applications, in addition to how they communicate those decisions to the applicant. https://lnkd.in/dbHDCU6W #babstcalland #municipallaw

As Portland rents rise and evictions threaten tenants, The Commons Law Center steps in. Over 90% of tenants helped by Commons Law in the past year have avoided eviction, according to the center, which also helps clients expunge eviction records. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gyTRPUWT #oregon #portland #seasonofsharing