Land Use
The details of SEQRA reform
Looking at the specifics of how New York’s SEQRA reform efforts would work
I recently posted about proposed legislation in New York, advanced by the governor, to reform the state’s environmental review law (the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA)) to facilitate infill housing – an approach similar to what California did last year. There’s now legislative text (available here) available to allow a close review of what …
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CONTINUE READINGWhere and What Are the Most Affordable New California Homes?
New CLEE Policy Brief Finds Major Cost Savings With Infill Homes
No issue defines both the affordability and climate challenge in California more than housing. High housing prices have pushed many prospective homebuyers to what some consider to be “affordable” outlying locations far from jobs and services, necessitating expensive commutes, and often in areas of heightened climate risk. As policy makers seek to stabilize housing prices …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA Report Offers Framework for Resolving Coastal Conflicts
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Guest contributors Maeve Anderson and Mackay Peltzer write that regulatory updates are needed to ensure California’s coastal planning remains consistent with the intent of the Coastal Act.
California’s iconic coastline is simultaneously a source of pride and tension for the state. As increasingly severe storms, intensified by climate change, accelerate the erosion of beaches and bluffs, the conflict around land use at the coast has also intensified. Nowhere exemplifies this reality better than the City of Pacifica, a popular surfing destination located …
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CONTINUE READINGTakings Between the Sheetz
…in which I actually praise Brett Kavanaugh
It seems absurd to blog about legal doctrine nowadays, but I, like many, am preparing for Spring term classes, and Takings represents one way that the Supremes might try to destroy American government. So it is always good to keep it in mind. Most of us know the issues concerning exactions – when a government …
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CONTINUE READINGUsing Maps to Make Housing Politics Easier
Setting clear borders as to where upzoning to advance housing would apply may help ease the politics of housing policy
A recent article in the SF Chronicle highlighted how it has been easier for housing advocates to get upzoning reforms that facilitate housing production in Oregon – with the upzoning provisions in Oregon having significantly fewer exceptions and carveouts than comparable provisions in California. The result is that Portland has seen more movement in housing …
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CONTINUE READINGEverything is Awesome!
Well, not really, but China’s astonishing progress in curbing emissions points to a technological way forward — and how the United States is being left behind.
There is so much that is awful, so let’s see some good news for once: China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were unchanged from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2025, extending a flat or falling trend that started in March 2024. The rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) saw CO2 emissions from transport fuel drop by 5% …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Promise and Growing Pains of Managed Aquifer Recharge
By Dave Owen, Helen E. Dahlke, Andrew T. Fisher, Ellen Bruno, and Michael Kiparsky
Around the world, groundwater mismanagement is a major driver of water crises. An emerging method for addressing such mismanagement, called managed aquifer recharge, has generated excitement among scholars and water managers. In a newly published article (Owen et al. 2025), we argue that this excitement, while often justified, should also be tempered by acknowledgment …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat to Know About the TFFF Announced at COP30
A bold new investment fund aims to channel billions into tropical forest protection – one key change can make it better.
The world is losing vast swaths of forests to agriculture, logging, mining and fires every year — more than 20 million acres in 2024 alone, roughly the size of South Carolina. That’s bad news because tropical forests in particular regulate rainfall, shelter plant and animal species and act as a thermostat for the planet by storing carbon, keeping it out of …
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CONTINUE READINGIs Diversity A Strength? Not Always
Environmental history shows that specifics matter
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Zohran Mamdani defeated Andrew Cuomo Tuesday in the race for the Mayor of New York City, becoming the Big Apple’s first Muslim mayor. Also to absolutely no one’s surprise, much of the campaign against Mamdani descended into Islamophobia – less from Cuomo himself and more from his supporters and outside …
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CONTINUE READINGLighting Candles in Dark Times: Environmental Law Centers in the Trump Era
These law school centers show it’s possible find ways to make a difference.
Environmental law have become vibrant parts of the law and policy ecosystem. At a time when despondency seems all too common, the work of these law school centers offers beacons of hope for the future of environmental protection. Some of that work is playing defense — pushing back against deregulatory efforts — while other work plays offense by identifying innovative directions for environmental policy. A comprehensive survey isn’t practical, but I’ll provide examples from several different centers.
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