Law Students Guide to Sustainable Development Law Working Draft

It contains a definition of sustainable development law, a chart of the topics it comprises, abstracts of five of Professor Nolon’s articles on the topic, and a description of the Land U

LAND USE LAW CENTER

P ACE U NIVERSITY S CHOOL OF L AW

W H I T E P L A I N S N E W Y O R K

A LAW STUDENT’S GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LAW

March 24, 2012

Introduction

This guide was prepared for presentation to students and faculty attending the 25th Annual Conference of the National Association of Environmental Law Societies at the University of Michigan Law School It contains a definition of sustainable development law, a chart of the topics it comprises, abstracts of five of Professor Nolon’s articles on the topic, and a description of the Land Use Law Center at Pace University School of Law where he works with students on projects, policies, courses, research, and writing on these topics As the consequences of climate change become apparent on the ground, at the shore, and in our atmosphere and waters, law firms are forming sustainable development law practices, agencies are adopting related policies, and students are studying the topics discussed in this guide to prepare for their careers, which will be dramatically affected by the economic, environmental, and equity issues covered by the emerging Law of Sustainable Development Pace Law School offers an LL.M degree track on Land Use and Sustainable Development Law For more information, go to www.law.pace.edu/graduate

Sustainable Development Law

“Sustainable development law … focuses on shaping land and economic development to have

a lighter impact on the environment, including, but not limited to climate change mitigation and adaptation Sustainable development uses less material, avoids consuming wetlands or eroding watersheds, consumes less energy, emits less carbon dioxide (CO2), lessens stormwater runoff, reduces ground and surface water pollution, and creates healthier places for living, working, and recreating.” JOHN R NOLON & PATRICIA E SALKIN, CLIMATE CHANGE AND

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LAW IN A NUTSHELL XV-XVI (2011)

In Prof Nolon’s Nutshell, the authors start by describing the international background of

sustainable development law and climate change efforts The authors then explore the existing legal systems of the U.S., highlighting the differences and interactions between the federal, state, and local levels The authors then further focus on the local level, discussing various climate-smart development techniques To learn more about this publication, visit:

http://store.westlaw.com/nolon-salkins-climate-change-sustainable-development-law-in-a-nutshell/163535/41009840/productdetail

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Scope of Sustainable Development

A Conservation Topics:

1 Local Environmental Law

2 Natural Resource Conservation

3 Agricultural Land Preservation &

Environmental Regulation

4 Green Infrastructure

5 Sustainable Sites

6 Habitat Conservation

7 Regulating Hydraulic Fracturing

8 Energy Sprawl

9 Environmental Impact Review of

Development

10 Public Health Impact Review of

Development

11 Urban Farming

12 Repurposing Landscapes

13 Historic Building & Landmark

Preservation

B Development Topics:

14 Smart Growth & Sustainable

Development Certification

15 Compact, Mixed-Use Development

& Priority Growth Districts

16 Urban Revitalization

17 Urban Renewal and Eminent

Domain

18 Repurposing of Buildings

19 Brownfield Redevelopment

20 Transit Oriented Development

21 Community Economic

Development

22 Urban Revitalization

23 Workforce Housing

24 Managing Shrinking Cities &

Suburbia

25 Vacant and Distressed Property

Remediation

26 Sustainable Neighborhood

Development

27 Green Buildings

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C Energy Conservation:

28 Energy Codes & Conservation in Buildings

29 Building Orientation &

Commissioning

30 Local Wind Turbine & Wind Farm Regulation

31 Local Solar Panel & Array Regulation

32 District Energy Systems

D Climate Change Topics:

33 Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation

34 Carbon Emission Reduction Through Human Settlement

35 Sea Level Rise

36 Community Resiliency

37 Disaster Planning & Response

38 Biological Sequestration: Forest Preservation & Enhancement

39 Tree Canopy Management & Expansion

E Decision-Making & Diffusion of Innovation:

40 Collaborative Decision-Making & Facilitation

41 Public Policy Formulation: Civil Discourse

42 Diffusion of Innovation: Change Agents

F Equity Topics:

43 Fair and Affordable Housing

44 Environmental Justice

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Climate Change & Sustainable Development Articles

WM & MARY ENVTL L & POL’Y REV 1 (2009), available at

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1520629

This article describes how local governments, through the application of existing land use techniques, can mitigate climate change This strategic path follows one developed by professor Robert Socolow, who identified fifteen categories for organizing society’s climate change mitigation efforts Five of Socolow’s categories fall within the reach of local land use authority: reduced use of vehicles, energy efficient buildings, vegetative carbon sequestration, wind power, and solar power Through the aggregation of these land use techniques, significant energy savings and CO2 reduction can be achieved This article describes how local governments are attacking the causes of climate change and how state and federal policies can be used to launch a coordinated attack on perhaps the greatest challenge our nation faces

LAND USE & ENVTL L (forthcoming 2012), available at

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1951905

Land use techniques have impressive potential to reduce energy consumption, improve the economy, and mitigate climate change This article explores the little understood influence local land use decision-making can have on energy conservation, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation, if properly assisted by federal and state governments The construction and use of buildings combined with extensive vehicular travel throughout the nation’s settlements inefficiently consume large amounts of energy By enforcing and enhancing energy codes, encouraging the use of combined heat and power and district energy systems, properly orienting and commissioning buildings, incorporating renewable energy resources, and reducing vehicle miles travelled, local land use law’s potential to achieve energy conservation and sustainable development can be unlocked The article proposes new federal and state policies, combining features of both the Coastal Zone Management Act and the Enterprise Zone initiative, which can facilitate local land use initiatives that will guide human settlements down a new path toward energy efficiency and climate change mitigation

STAN ENVTL L.J (forthcoming 2012), available at

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1951907

Climate change management involves strategies that mitigate its causes and adapt human communities to its consequences In light of those goals, a national biological sequestration policy will increase the amount of CO2 emissions that biologically sequestered and will enable human settlements to adapt to the harsh effects of a changing climate, while promoting open space preservation The article sketches the influences of international and national climate change law, which largely ignore the benefits of biological sequestration on privately owned land in developed countries It then turns to an analysis of climate change and its consequences before exploring how mitigation and adaptation can be accomplished

by preserving and enhancing the natural landscape in both rural and urban areas The local

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and state initiatives that have evolved to preserve and enhance open space provide the basis for a broader sequestration policy, one that builds on available legal technology and existing norms to respond to the looming global perturbation of climate change

WIDENER L REV (forthcoming 2012), available at

This article discusses GHG emissions, global warming, sea level rise, and the ferocity of coastal storms associated with climate change It then explores the tension between these movements in nature and the policy of the State of Florida to fix property boundaries, which under common law would move landward as sea level rises The article contrasts the Florida coastal policy regarding beach and shore protection with the policies and programs of federal, state, and local governments that use other approaches such as accommodating rolling easements, prohibiting shoreline armoring, requiring removal of buildings, purchasing development rights or the land itself, and imposing moratoria on rebuilding after storm events These may be more realistic approaches to long-term coastal erosion, avulsive events, and the inevitability of sea level rise The article concludes with a recommendation that the framework for federal, state, and local cooperation in coastal management be revised so that the critical resources and knowledge are brought to bear on this critical issue

at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1586942

This article describes the field of sustainable development law and then considers the relationship between change in society and the evolution of relevant legal principles, strategies, and practices Documented in this review is the steady change exhibited in the common law applicable to natural resources, the rapid spread of zoning, and the current explosion of climate change litigation and regulation The first half of the article demonstrates that the law can and does evolve in response to crises in society, particularly when lawyers, judges, professionals, and policy makers are trained to understand that law is

an instrument for positive change The article then turns to why law schools matter by drawing lessons from the author’s personal experience at Pace University School of Law

Land Use Law Center Mission

Established in 1993, the Land Use Law Center at Pace Law School is dedicated to fostering the development of sustainable communities through the promotion of innovative land use strategies and collaborative decision-making techniques, as well as leadership training, research, education, and technical assistance Its activities provide opportunities for students of Pace Law School to gain in-depth experience that allows them to become practice-ready attorneys serving private, public, and non-governmental clients

The Land Use Law Center is the preeminent center of its kind offering extensive research and consulting services; practitioner and citizen-leader training programs; continuing legal education programs; multimedia resources; and frequent publications on sustainable land use and community development For more information on the Land Use Law Center, visit:

http://www.pace.edu/school-of-law/centers-and-special-programs/centers/land-use-law-center-0