Term
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Definition
| Provided for the rectangular land survey of the Old Northwest. The rectangular survey has been called "the largest single act of national planning in our history and ... the most significant in terms of continuing impact on the body politic" (Daniel Elazar). (1785) |
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Term
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Definition
| Opened the lands of the Public Domain to settlers for a nominal fee and five years residence. (1862) |
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Term
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Definition
| Congress authorizes land grants from the Public Domain to the states. Proceeds from the sale were to be used to found colleges offering instruction in agriculture, engineering, and other practical arts. (1862) |
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Term
| Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States |
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Definition
| By John Wesley Powell. Includes a proposed regional plan that would both foster settlement of the arid west and conserve scarce water resources. (1878) |
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Term
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Definition
| US Supreme Court ruled that the courts have the duty to strike down local laws that do not have a real or substantial relation to the police power: to protect the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the community. (1887) |
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Term
| General Land Law Revision Act |
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Definition
| Gave President power to create forest preserves by proclamation. (1891) |
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Term
| United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railway Co. |
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Definition
| The first significant legal caseconcerning historic preservation. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the acquisition of the national battlefield at Gettysburg served a valid public purpose. (1896) |
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Term
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Definition
| Authorized some control by the Secretary of the Interior over the use and occupancy of the forest preserves. (1897) |
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Term
| New York State Tenement House Law |
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Definition
| The legislative basis for the revision of citycodes that outlawed tenements such as the "Dumbbell Tenement." Lawrence Veiller was the leading reformer. (1901) |
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Term
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Definition
| Created fund from sale of public land in the arid states to supply water there through the construction of water storage and irrigation works. (1902) |
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Term
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Definition
| President Theodore Roosevelt appoints to propose rules for orderly land development and management. (1903) |
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Term
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Definition
| First law to institute federal protection for preserving archaeological sites. Provided for designation as National Monuments areas already in the public domain that contained "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and objects of historic or scientific interest." (1906) |
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Term
| Inland Waterway Commission |
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Definition
| President Roosevelt establishes to encourage multipurpose planning in waterway development: navigation, power, irrigation, flood control, water supply. (1907) |
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Term
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court upholds municipal regulation of building heights. This validated the use of construction standards to uphold public safety. (1909) |
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Term
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Definition
| US Supreme Court upheld a municipal regulation that governed the placement of land uses. Defendant charged with violating ordinance that prohibited brick making in the City of Los Angles. Court ruled in favor of City (Sebastian); this regulation was a proper use of police power, area was primarily residential. (1915) |
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Term
| Nation's first comprehensive zoning resolution adopted |
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Definition
| By New York City Board of Estimates under the leadership of George McAneny and Edward Bassett, known as the "Father of Zoning." (1916) |
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Term
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Definition
| Established with sole responsibility for conserving and preserving resources of special value. (1916) |
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Term
| U.S. Housing Corporation and Emergency Fleet Corporation established. |
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Definition
| Influenced later endeavors in public housing. Operated at major shipping centers to provide housing for World War I workers. (1918) |
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Term
| Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon |
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Definition
| The first decision to hold that a land use restriction constituted a taking. The U.S. Supreme Court (Justice Brandeis dissenting) noted property may be regulated to a certain extent, [but] if regulation goes too far it will be recognized as a taking, thus acknowledging the principle of a "regulatory taking." A statute forbidding coal mining under private dwellings or streets in areas where the right to mine is reserved is unconstitutional, as a taking of property without due process. If a regulation goes too far it will be recognized as a taking and compensation must be paid. (1922) |
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Term
| Standard State Zoning Enabling Act |
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Definition
| U.S. Department of Commerce under Secretary Herbert Hoover issues. (1924) |
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Term
| Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty |
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Definition
| Constitutionality of zoning upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. (Case argued by Alfred Bettman.) Court ruled that zoning ordinance was not an unreasonable extension of the village’s police power. Also ruled that speculation was not a valid basis for a claim of takings since Ambler offered no evidence that ordinance affected property values. (1926) |
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Term
| Standard City Planning Enabling Act |
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Definition
| U.S. Department of Commerce under Secretary Herbert Hoover issues. (1928) |
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Term
| Nectow v. City of Cambridge |
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Definition
| US Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a local zoning ordinance that was not reasonably tied to a valid public purpose under the police power. (1928) |
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Term
| First instance of rural zoning |
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Definition
| Wisconsin authorized county boards "to regulate, restrict and determine the areas within which agriculture, forestry and recreation may be conducted." (1929) |
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Term
| Bove v. Donner-Hanna Coke Corp |
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Definition
| The court ruled that an owner cannot make use of his property if it creates a material annoyance to his neighbor or if his neighbor’s property or life is materially lessened by the use. Deals with private nuisance. Although Bove’s building existed before the Coke Corp., annoyances provided by the Coke Corp. are usual business activities and are reasonable. They are within legal pollution standards – no basis for nuisance. (1932) |
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Term
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Definition
| It begins with a spate of counter-depression measures. (1933) |
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Term
| Federal Emergency Relief Administration |
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Definition
| Set up under Harry Hopkins to organize relief work in urban and rural areas. (1933) |
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Term
| Tennessee Valley Authority |
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Definition
| Created to provide for unified and multipurpose rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Tennessee Valley, America's most famous experiment in river-basin planning. Senator George Norris of Nebraska fathered idea, and David Lilienthal was its most effective implementer. (1933) |
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Term
| The Agricultural Adjustment Act |
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Definition
| Passed to regulate agricultural trade practices, production, prices, supply areas (and therefore land use) as a recovery measure. (1933) |
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Term
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Definition
| Established FSLIC for insuring savings deposits and the FHA for insuring individual home mortgages. (1934) |
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Term
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Definition
| Passed with the purpose to regulate the use of the range in the West for conservation purposes. (1934) |
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Term
| Resettlement Administration |
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Definition
| Established under Rexford Tugwell, Roosevelt braintruster, to carry out experiments in land reform and population resettlement. This agency built the three Greenbelt towns (Greenbelt, Maryland; Greendale, Wisconsin; Greenhills, Ohio) forerunners of present day New Towns: Columbia, Maryland; Reston, Virginia; etc.) (1935) |
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Term
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Definition
| Congress moves to make prevention of soil erosion a national responsibility. (1935) |
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Term
| The Historic Sites, Buildings and Antiquities Act |
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Definition
| A predecessor of the National Historic Preservation Act, passed. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to identify, acquire, and restore qualifying historic sites and properties and calls upon federal agencies to consider preservation needs in their programs and plans. (1935) |
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Term
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Definition
| Passed to create a safety net for elderly. Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor and first woman cabinet member, was a principal promoter. (1935) |
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Term
| U.S. Housing Act (Wagner-Steagall) |
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Definition
| Set the stage for future government aid by appropriating $500 million in loans for low-cost housing. Tied slum clearance to public housing. (1937) |
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Term
| Farm Security Administration |
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Definition
| Established as a successor to the Resettlement Administration and administrator of many programs to aid the rural poor. (1937) |
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Term
| Serviceman's Readjustment Act ("G.I. Bill") |
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Definition
| Guaranteed loans for homes to veterans under favorable terms, thereby accelerating the growth of suburbs. (1944) |
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Term
| Housing and Home Financing Agency (predecessor of HUD) |
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Definition
| Created to coordinate federal government's various housing programs. (1947) |
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Term
| Housing Act (Wagner-Ellender-Taft Bill) |
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Definition
| First U.S. comprehensive housing legislation. Aimed to construct about 800,000 units. Inaugurated urban redevelopment program. (1949) |
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Term
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Definition
| U.S. Supreme Court upholds right of Washington, D.C. Redevelopment Land Agency to condemn properties that are unsightly, though nondeteriorated, if required to achieve objectives of duly established area redevelopment plan. Established aesthetics and redevelopment as valid public purposes for exercising the power of eminent domain. (1954) |
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Term
| Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka, Kansas) |
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Definition
| Supreme Court upholds school integration. (1954) |
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Term
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Definition
| Stressed slum prevention and urban renewal rather than slum clearance and urban redevelopment as in the 1949 act. Also stimulated general planning for cities under 25,000 population by providing funds under Section 701 of the act. "701 funding" later extended by legislative amendments to foster statewide, interstate, and substate regional planning. (1954) |
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Term
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Definition
| Congress passes multibillion dollar law to create interstate highway system linking all state capitals and most cities of 50,000 population or more. (1956) |
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Term
| The Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) |
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Definition
| Congress establishes with members from various branches of government. Serves primarily as a research agency and think tank in area of intergovernmental relations. (1959) |
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Term
| First state to institute statewide zoning |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Outlaws discrimination based on race, creed, and national origin in places of public accommodation. (1964) |
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Term
| Water Resources Management Act |
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Definition
| Congress passes authorizing Federal-Multistate river basin commissions. (1965) |
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Term
| The Public Work and Economic Development Act |
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Definition
| Passes Congress. This act establishes the Economic Development Administration to extend coordinated, multifaceted aid to lagging regions and foster their redevelopment (1965) |
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Term
| The Appalachian Regional Planning Act |
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Definition
| Establishes a region comprising all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states, plus a planning commission with the power to frame plans and allocate resources. (1965) |
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Term
| The Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act |
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Definition
| Launched the "model cities" program, an interdisciplinary attack on urban blight and poverty. A centerpiece of President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" program. (1966) |
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Term
| National Historic Preservation Act |
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Definition
| Establishes the National Register of Historic Places and provides, through its Section 106, for the protection of preservation-worthy sites and properties threatened by federal activities. This act also creates the national Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and directs that each state appoint a State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). (1966) |
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Term
| Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act |
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Definition
| Provides protection to parkland, wildlife refuges, and other preservation-worthy resources in building national roads. Unlike parkland and wildlife refuges, however, privately owned historic sites as well as those in public ownership are protected by Section 4(f). (1966) |
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Term
| Intergovernmental Relations Act of 1968 |
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Definition
| To implement, the Office of Management and Budget issues Circular A-95 requiring state and substate regional clearinghouses to review and comment on federally assisted projects to facilitate coordination among the three levels of government. (1968) |
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Term
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Definition
| The 8th Circuit rules that racial barriers cannot affect the acquisition of property. (1968) |
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Term
| National Environmental Policy Act |
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Definition
| Requires an "environmental impact statement" for every federal or federally aided state or local major cation that might significantly harm the environment. (1969) |
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Term
| Federal Environment Protection Agency |
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Definition
| Established to administer main provisions of the Clean Air Act (1970). (1970) |
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Term
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Definition
| US Supreme Court upheld an amendment to the California Constitution mandating a referendum on all housing projects because an intent to racially discriminate could not be found. (1971) |
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Term
| Calvert Cliffs Coordinating Committee v. US Atomic Energy Commission |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court found that an approval for a nuclear power plant was not properly granted because the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Act were not followed. This decision solidified the place of NEPA in the development arena. Made National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) requirements judicially enforceable. (1971) |
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Term
| Coastal Zone Management Act |
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Definition
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Term
| General revenue sharing inaugurated |
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Definition
| Under the U.S. State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act. (1972) |
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Term
| Golden v. Planning Board of Ramapo, New York |
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Definition
| High court allows the use of performance criteria as a means of slowing community growth. (1972) |
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Term
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Definition
| Authorized Federal assistance to state and local jurisdictions to establish conservation programs for endangers plant and animal species. (1973) |
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Term
| Fasano v. Board of County Commissioners of Washington County |
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Definition
| The Oregon Supreme Court rules that all zoning and rezoning must be consistent with applicable comprehensive plans. Required zoning to be consistent with comprehensive plans and recognized that rezonings may be quasi-judicial as well as legislative. Because rezoning to permit a large mobile home PUD determined the rights of only a few landowners, the action was adjudicatory rather than legislative in character and the presumption of validity normally afforded local legislative acts did not apply. In such cases, the burden of justifying the rezoning falls on the party seeking the change, who must show that the change will be in accordance with the comprehensive plan. (1973) |
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Term
| Housing and Community Development Act |
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Definition
| Replaces the categorical grant with the block grant as the principal form of federal aid for local community development. (1974) |
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Term
| Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court rules that limiting residents of housing units to related individuals was a legitimate use of the police power, eliminating many fundamental civil rights challenges to local regulations. Ordinance regulating definition of family and number of family members. This is a legitimate goal of zoning. (1974) |
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Term
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Definition
| The US 4th Circuit finds that quotas on the annual number of building permits issued was a constitutional use of the police power in this case. (1975) |
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Term
| Cleveland Policy Plan Report |
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Definition
| Shifts emphasis from traditional land-use planning to advocacy planning. (1975) |
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Term
| Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mt. Laurel |
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Definition
| The New Jersey Supreme Court rules that the local zoning ordinance was unconstitutional where it conflicted with state defined fair housing practices. Court held that the zoning ordinance, which effectively deprived adequate housing for the poor and discriminated against them, was unconstitutional and invalid (1975) |
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Term
| Associated Home Builders of Greater East Bay v. City of Livermore |
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Definition
| The California Supreme Court found that temporary moratoria on building permit issuance was constitutional. (1976) |
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Term
| Historic Preservation Fund |
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Definition
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Term
| Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. |
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Definition
| In another equal protection case, the US Supreme Court finds that a regulation effectively denying housing to people based on race, immigration status, or national origin was unconstitutional. Further a regulation effectively denying housing to people based on gender or illegitimacy must substantially advance a legitimate state interest and be passed or enforced with intent to discriminate. (1977) |
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Term
| Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104 (1978) |
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Definition
| U.S. Supreme Court upholds New York City's Landmark Preservation Law as applied to Grand Central Terminal. In this landmark decision, the Court found that barring some development of air rights was not a taking when the interior of the property could be put to lucrative use. (1978) |
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Term
| Central Hudson v. Public Service Commission |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court finds that for a regulation involving first amendment rights to survive, it must 1) advance a compelling state interest, 2) allow a reasonable alternative means of communication, 3) is as narrowly defined as possible, and 4) is a reasonable time, place, and manner restriction. (1980) |
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Term
| Superfund Bill passed by Congress (Comprehensive Response, Compensation and Liability Act) |
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Definition
| Creates liability for persons discharging hazardous waste into the environment. Taxes polluting industries to establish a trust fund for the cleanup of polluted sites in cases where individual responsibility is not ascertainable. (1980) |
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Term
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Definition
| Makes clear that a regulation that is not reasonably related to the police power and causes a property to lose all economic value constitutes a taking. (1980) |
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Term
| Metromedia v. City of San Diego |
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Definition
| US Supreme Court holds that neither commercial nor non-commercial speech can be favored over the other. The ordinance was overturned because it effectively banned non-commercial signs. (1981) |
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Term
| Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp. |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court confirms that a physical invasion of a property is a taking. (1982) |
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Term
| Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mt. Laurel II (NJ Supreme Court) |
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Definition
| All 567 municipalities in the state must build their "fair share" of affordable housing. A precedent-setting blow against racial segregation. (1983) |
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Term
| Members of City Council v. Taxpayers for Vincent |
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Definition
| US Supreme Court upheld a regulation that prohibited the attaching of signs to utility poles. The Court found that the regulation met all the tests mentioned under Central Hudson, above (1980). (1984) |
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Term
| City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court ruled that an ordinance that does treat different groups unequally, but does not involve a fundamental right or group that gained protection under Village of Arlington Heights (1977) merely needs to pass a rational basis test. (In this case, the ordinance failed the rational basis test.) (1985) |
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Term
| City of Renton v. Playtime Theaters, Inc. |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court allowed a zoning ordinance limiting sexually-oriented businesses to 5% of the municipal land area to stand based on a study conducted on the negative effects the business type has on surrounding areas. (1986) |
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Term
| First English Evangelical Lutheran Church v. County of Los Angeles |
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Definition
| U.S. Supreme Court finds that even a temporary taking requires compensation. In Nollan v. California Coastal Commission, it finds that land-use restrictions, to be valid, must be tied directly to a specific public purpose. (1987) |
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Term
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Definition
| Court ruled that zoning cannot be used to grant religious institutions advantages over other commercial ventures. In this case, the Court overturned a zoning provision that allowed a church to run a day care in a residential zone where no one else could do so. (1990) |
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Term
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Definition
| Court ruled that zoning that is neutral on its face was permissible so long as it doesn’t hinder the religion itself. This particular case upheld a ban on the use of peyote in Native American religious services. (1990) |
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Term
| Passage of Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) |
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Definition
| Includes provisions for a National Scenic Byways Program and for transportation enhancements, each of which includes a historic preservation component. (1991) |
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Term
| Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council |
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Definition
| U.S. Supreme Court limits local and state governments' ability to restrict private property without compensation. (1992) |
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Term
| Enterprise Zone/Empowerment Community (EZ/EC) |
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Definition
| Aims tax incentives, wage tax credits, special deductions, and low-interest financing to a limited number of impoverished urban and rural communities to jumpstart their economic and social recovery. (1993) |
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Term
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Definition
| The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a jurisdiction must show that there is a "rough proportionality " between the adverse impacts of a proposed development and the exactions it wishes to impose on the developer. (1994) |
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Term
| North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) |
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Definition
| U.S., Canada and Mexico agreement begins on January 1, its purpose to foster trade and investment among the three nations by removing or lowering non-tariff as well as tariff barriers. (1994) |
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Term
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Definition
| Realigns the telecommunications industry by allowing competition. It also impact local land use by requiring telecommunications towers be permitted wherever a gap in coverage is found, and prohibits local consideration of health effects in permitting decisions. (1996) |
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Term
| Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court rules that a temporary building moratorium for the purpose of conducting planning studies to protect the public health, safety, welfare, and morals is a legitimate use of police power and does not constitute a taking of any kind. (2002) |
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Term
| Kelo v. City of New London |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court upholds the decades-old practice of utilizing urban redevelopment and eminent domain for economic development purposes when such actions are backed by a redevelopment plan that underwent a full plan development process. (2005) |
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Term
| San Remo Hotel v. San Francisco |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court ruled that a takings dispute resolved at the state level cannot be relitigated at the federal level. (2005) |
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Term
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court overturns the troublesome “substantial advancement” test established in Agins (1980, above) in its decision in this case. (2005) |
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Term
| Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams |
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Definition
| The US Supreme Court rules that zoning review under the Telecommunications Act does not include monetary damages or a lengthy review period. (2005) |
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