Zoning the Oceans
I am pleased and proud that the American Bar Association has just published my book, “Zoning the Oceans The Next Big Step in Coastal Zone Management”. And at approximately 300…
Rhode Island and Massachusetts Issues on the Siting of Potentially Hazardous Facilities Will Get National Attention
An American Bar Association Webinar will bring to a national audience Rhode Island’s and Massachusetts’ experience with the proposed development of a LNG facility as part of a discussion of…
A Real Estate Developer’s Worst Nightmare Gets Even Worse
To all those developers rushing off to federal court to sue because state regulations preventing development have “taken” your property without just compensation—NOT SO FAST! And to all those…
Coastal Permitting and Federal Coastal Zone Management Act Protections for States
I recently had the opportunity to address the fall meeting of the American Bar Association’s Section of State and Local Government Law on a coastal permitting topic that even…
Developers and Property Owners Benefit From Permit Extensions
Many real estate developers and property owners got a significant break from the General Assembly late last year, when legislation passed to extend the expiration date of a broad…
Regulating Waterfront Property in Rhode Island: Ownership Does Not Mean Control
If you own waterfront property in Rhode Island and think you can do with it what you will, so long as you observe zoning ordinances like everyone else, think…
Putting the Champlin’s Marina Decision in Perspective
This is the last in a four-part series on the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s decision in the Champlin’s Marina decision, where the court affirmed in part and reversed in part…
“A Veritable Peyton Place of Impermissible Ex Parte Contacts”
In a recent talk to a regional conference of planners held in Connecticut, that is how I described a trial court’s findings that a coastal permitting agency failed to…
Is Quasi-Judicial Immunity Really Quasi-Immunity?
That in effect was one of the questions facing the Rhode Island Supreme Court in its recent Champlin’s Marina decision. Does a quasi-judicial hearing officer receive only a limited scope of…
Did the Champlin’s Marina Remedy Miss the Mark?
If there is a weakness in the Supreme Court’s thoughtful decision in the Champlin’s Marina case, in my judgment it is in the remedy imposed by a divided Court. See…