When you're dealing with any piece of real estate in Massachusetts, you need to Understand The applicable land use regulations and cases. Bobrowski's Handbook of Massachsetts Land Use and Planning Law provides all the insightful analysis and practical, expert advice you need, with detailed coverage of such important issues as: Affordable housing Special permit and variance decisions Zoning in Boston Nonconforming uses and structures Administrative appeal procedures Enforcement requests Building permits Vested rights Agricultural use exemptions Current tests for exactions SLAPP suit procedures Impact fees Civil rights challenges. Helpful tables facilitate convenient case law review, while forms and extensive cross-references add To The book's usefulness.

"Transfer of Development Rights" (TDR) programs allow local governments to put economic principles to work in encouraging good land use planning. TDR programs most often permit landowners to forfeit development rights in areas targeted for preservation and then sell those development rights to buyers who want to increase the density of development in areas designated as growth areas by local authorities. Although TDR programs must conform to zoning laws, they provide market incentives that make them more equitable (and often more lucrative) for sellers and frequently benefit buyers by allowing them to receive prior approval for their high-density development plans. Since the 1970s when modern TDR applications were first conceived, more than 200 communities in 33 states across the U.S. have implemented TDR-based programs. The most common uses of TDR to date involve protecting farmland, environmentally sensitive land, historic sites, and "rural character," and urban revitalization. Until now, however, there has never been a clearly written, one-volume book on the subject. At last, The TDR Handbook provides a comprehensive guide to every aspect of TDR programs, from the thinking behind them to the nuts and bolts of implementation-including statutory guidance, model ordinances, suggestions for program administration, and comparisons with other types of preservation programs. In addition, six of its twenty chapters are devoted to case studies of all major uses to which TDR programs have been utilized to date, including recent urban revitalization projects that utilize TDR principles.

As its name suggests, a quasi-judicial decision is like a court decision in several important ways. It requires the deciding board to use its judgment in applying general law to a particular land use situation while ensuring the constitutional due process rights of the parties. This handbook is designed as a guide for boards making development regulation decisions through the quasi-judicial process. The discussion covers the process prior to, during, and after the evidentiary hearing as well as the decision itself. Other topics include the board of adjustment, variances, special use permits, certificates of appropriateness, appeals of zoning determinations, and judicial review. A package of 5 books is available for a discounted price for those looking to purchase copies for their entire board.

Provides an extensive treatment of the judicial process and doctrines surrounding judicial review. Includes over 100 edited Supreme Court cases and chapters on: modern administrative state and importance of bureaucracy, constitutional sources of civil rights and liberties, economic regulation and property rights, constitutional right of privacy, criminal justice, equal protection, and voting rights. Also extensive treatment of federalism.

The dynamics of change in the uses and occupancy characteristics of cities has caught urban managers off guard. The abandonment of central city realty in many locations is a fact which cannot be overlooked. Yet within this reality, there are the seeds of hope, not of return to things past, but to a series of new constructive efforts. Bridging the gap between the city and/or neighborhood of yesterday and the potentials of tomorrow requires a firm grasp of all the many required tools - in terms of legal, physical and strategic planning. It is to these necessities that this handbook is dedicated.The Adaptive Reuse Handbook is a basic urban revitalization manual for city managers, zoning administrators, urban planners, architects, lay planning/zoning board members, and interested citizens. The handbook consists of procedures to gain control of, and positively reemploy, abandoned urban real estate. This is the non-architectural side of surplus property conversion - the legal and administrative procedures necessary to garner structures and land and prepare them for reuse.This book is divided into four sections: planning/inventory; property control; property management and disposition; and physical revitalization. Each section presents procedures and field experience to deal with a particular urban revitalization activity: property inventory, abandonment early warning systems, reuse planning, interim/permanent property control, tax sale/foreclosure, property management, property disposition, and physical revitalization. This is a must have reference work for anyone in the field of urban studies.