This article provides an overview of some of the strategies that have been used to increase the use of small-scale renewables, focusing on non-commercial renewable energy systems installed at the home or business level. The article begins in Part II with a discussion of various renewable energy...

This article discusses many of the factors contributing to the fiscal crisis at the local level in New York including historic decreases in federal and state revenue sharing, the imposition of a new property tax cap, the failure of New York to meaningfully address the subject of unfunded...

Although federal, state and local government officials are subject to applicable codes of ethical conduct and are under the jurisdiction of ethics enforcement agencies created pursuant to these laws, ethics oversight agencies are limited in the breadth and scope of covered activities. With an...

With a significant volume of litigation focused on the subject of nonconforming uses, this article offers practical strategies for drafters of local zoning ordinances and laws on the subject of abandonment, discontinuance and amortization of nonconforming uses

This article provides a critical examination of land use reform in New York. It is designed to educate newcomers to the political territory and dimensions involved in achieving land use reform. Additionally, this article illustrates a path of reform, which could result in a major overhaul of...

This article focuses on smart growth issues and opportunities in New York with a specific focus on regionalism. Part I of this article addresses the work of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources to modernize state land use statutes. Part II examines Governor Pataki's Quality Communities...

This article is intended to shift attention away from the growing literature on state smart growth issues and focus on the continuing interest at the federal level with respect to land use planning and smart-growth issues. Although the article does not advocate a national land use policy, it...

Following allegations of corruption and unethical conduct on the part of both wind farm developers and municipal officials, the New York Attorney General unveiled a voluntary code of ethics for wind energy companies. Perhaps recognizing the gaps in municipal ethics laws and regulations at the...

A community benefits agreement (CBA) is a private contract negotiated between a prospective developer and community representatives. In essence, the CBA specifies the benefits that the developer will provide to the community in exchange for the community's support, or quiet acquiescence, of its...

People have been trying to exclude chain stores from their communities for decades. This includes quot;big-boxquot; chains - the behemoth retailers that prefer an architecture of rectangular, single-story unadorned structures reaching 200,000 square feet or more - as well as national and...