The 2015 Summer School Series is co-sponsored by the D.C. Bar's Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section.
Each summer, ELI convenes a complimentary seminar series that offers an introduction to the legal and policy foundations of environmental protection in the United States. The series is cosponsored by the D.C. Bar's Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section.
ELI's Summer School is a series of brown-bag lunch seminars taught by experts in their fields, introducing the audience to the major environmental statutes (including NEPA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, TSCA, RCRA, and CERCLA) and land use law. Faculty will also incorporate major regulatory and judicial updates to the laws.
Who will benefit: All are welcome. Students and emerging professionals will have unique opportunities to learn, hear updates, ask questions, and network. The series is intended for:
- undergraduates,
- law students and graduate students, and
- working professionals new to or looking for a refresher course in environmental law (such as interns, summer clerks, and associates, or second-career professionals).
Basics of Land Use Law
Land use planning touches everyone. This course focused on the primary elements of land use planning law:
- zoning,
- comprehensive planning, and
- eminent domain.
Our speaker described the history of Euclidean or "suburban" zoning and urban planning and more recent trends in approaches to planning communities. Other topics that were addressed:
- smart growth, transportation issues, and green building initiatives; and
- the inter-agency cooperation that led to holistic approaches to planning land, building, water, and infrastructure needs to reduce energy costs and climate change impacts.
Faculty:
James McElfish, Senior Attorney and Director, Sustainable Use of Land Program, ELI
ELI Resources:
Protecting the Environment Through Land Use Law: Standing Ground (2014)
Land Use Planning and the Environment: A Casebook (2010)
Nature-Friendly Land Use Practices at Multiple Scales (2009)
The SmartCode Solution to Sprawl (2007)
Losing Ground: A Nation on Edge (2007)
**See the entire Summer School 2015 schedule HERE.**