Innovation, Steve Jobs and Land Use

As always, I am on the look-out for new and interesting things going on in the world of land use. Not only are new projects part of this constant monitoring, but new methods and ways of doing things are also within my orbit. For instance, despite the fact that the two are inherently linked, it is not always the case that the tremendous technology tools available to land use professionals are integrated into the "face" of land use, i.e., presentations before boards and commissions. GIS and AutoCAD are just a few of the common tools that professionals working on new projects, and planning communities for the next epoch of the built-up environment, rely on to do their jobs. On the legal front, we are more limited in our repertoire. Many of our presentations still rely on easels and poster boards rather than digital images or three-dimensional models to make our case.

I'm reading (or more appropriately, listening) to the new biography, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Besides the fact that apparently Mr. Jobs had some interpersonal communication issues, the other main spine running through his life was an obsession with how appearances and packaging are just as important as the high quality components inside a great product. This isn't the only reason people have saluted Mr. Jobs as a "visionary", but it highlighted for me how important it is to put on the right "show" when appearing before boards. The medium isn't the message, but it certainly helps to convey it.

Around our office, the most critical technological tools we use involve the continually evolving Google Earth and Bing platforms for viewing the properties which are the subject of our land use applications. Seeing a parcel on the Streetview function on Google Earth brings you, literally, to the window of the building on the site (which of course we're planning on demolishing), along with everything else that stands there today. But putting aside the inherent privacy questions, the cool factor Mr. Jobs always strove for still endures for this amazing tool created by one of his bitter rivals. So when it was released last week that Google has expanded its capabilities into certain public spaces such as shopping malls and airports, it turned my attention back to how the land use and technology partnership should continue to evolve.

More and more it has become common practice for municipalities to create their own slide shows of images to be displayed at board hearings. Also, certain localities enlist internal GIS information, which includes aerial maps depicting a variety of overlays, such as zoning districts and uses, for display at public hearings. While there is no material difference between a site plan on a board or a site plan on a screen, it is the inherent utility that should be considered. The simple question of how to orient the easel, i.e., either towards the board or the public, is seemingly at issue at every hearing. Invariably, the easel ends up being positioned into an awkward angle so that none of the audience constituencies is satisfied.

Ultimately, this will be a moot point, as all municipal chambers will eventually be equipped with sufficient infrastructure to support a more user friendly, technologically based framework. But until that day arrives (which may be a while, in this age of austerity), it is in the hands of the applicant to bring a better experience to all involved. A land use hearing will never be the happening place to go on a weekday evening, but it can be an event where the audience you are trying to convince does not mark the second strike against you for annoying them with visual aids they cannot see. Ironically, in 2010, Mr. Jobs himself presented to the City Council of Cupertino, California, the renderings for the proposed new headquarters for his beloved Apple.

Finally, and in a nod to the hippy lifestyle that Mr. Jobs had great appreciation for, a recent article notes an innovative use for the vacant homes that are the byproduct of the wrenching foreclosure crisis we are still struggling with. In several U.S. cities, particularly in hard-stricken Las Vegas, where 1 in every 44 homes has been slated for foreclosure, distressed homes that have been rented out have been transformed into marijuana "grow-ops". Last year in Nevada, 153 indoor operations were busted, up from 18 in pre-bubble 2005. Despite the illegality, this "think different" approach suggests that there are more uses for a single family home than the conventional wisdom offers -- like building computers in the garage, and with it starting a company named after a fruit.

Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back!

Curiously, I have the theme from Welcome Back, Kotter going through my head as I plot my return to the blogosphere. It has been almost two years since my last confession. Since then, things have been busy on the personal and professional fronts. Of course, that has not meant that I have not been keeping up on the happenings when it comes to land use.

When it comes to the latest, I have been extremely focused on homeownership, as I recently joined the ranks of such unfortunate souls late last year. Aside from the unending reports which predict the end of people owning the place where they lay their head at night, I have to question my own purchase every time there's a new repair that's needed on my wonderful old house, wondering if I'll have better luck than the Baileys in It's a Wonderful Life, or perhaps whether Bob Vila or Norm Abram may live on my block. In fact, a few weeks ago, an enormous tree branch plummeted to the ground next door. Aside from thanking above that it did not fall on my front lawn, I also contemplated if this branch was a comment on the state of affairs.

Attempting to move beyond the immediate concerns which surround us, I am heartened to see that at least in certain respects, our obsession with changes in the built environment remain on the brains of most of us, particularly if a new project is just down the road, or even next door. On another positive note, I just returned from Toronto, a lovely city across the northern border. What struck me most were the seemingly omnipresent cranes and construction sites, particularly in the city's downtown area (which is where I focused my stay).

This, of course, was a far cry from what is going on back home. I returned to learn of the rejection of a proposal in Nassau County, on whether to devote public funds to the chronic Nassau Coliseum site. Not only does it send the endless process back into focus group mode, it also may result in the County's loss of its New York Islanders.

Even more of a blow, though, was the impending death of regional planning on Long Island. The Long Island Regional Planning Council, which has provided a forum to discuss island-wide issues in a very-fragmented political climate, has lost its funding from Nassau County, who battled severe budget issues. The Council remains upbeat, but it may be an uphill pursuit.

Nonetheless, despite all the gloom, I still see the glimmer of new beginnings. I try to stay positive, especially when I see signs of life beyond the horizon.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Despite the nagging news, talk has turned to how to get out of this economic mess rather than harping on the doomsday state of things. In my humble opinion, it's time we all shake off the doldrums and get back to reviewing a bit of good solid land use activity out there. As we move into the post-Google world, in which everyone has access to every square inch of the face of the Earth from their computer screens, there is no mystery anymore, there is no "virgin land" to explore, no Lost City of Z. That doesn't mean though, that something can't be made from the land use of generations past. Reduce, reuse, recycle, as the motto goes, and that is the business of land development these days. How do we make new the old, and turn it into something great for generations to come?

Visionaries

One recent passing highlights this can-do spirit that motivated our forefathers, as embodied in such types as Melvin Simon, the mall magnate who passed not long ago at 82. From the Bronx to the biggest mall builder in the country (and beyond), Simon is the example of how to create new spaces for people -- at least if it meant auto-driven retail centers. Despite the fact that malls have gone through transition, and the model is on the significant wane, he created the new, and people flocked to it. To his credit, he was at the forefront of bringing movie theaters to malls, to keep them lively into the evening hours. Perhaps just short of his work in producing "Porky's," Simon's main achievement was providing inspiration, if not a vision, to respond to demand for new public spaces.

The vision tag, if not one for execution, could be attached as well to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose grand plan for Paris is his attempt to place his stamp on the City of Lights. In his scheme are far-reaching proposals to unite the suburban ring with the central city through a massive infrastructure infusion to the region. Currently, a ring highway separates the two politically distinct subsets of the metropolis. The dearth of affordable housing in the area is also a problem, and Sarkozy wants to work towards solving this void as well, which may include the dreaded skyscrapers which the city has worked hard to eschew. Of course, the economic conditions are to blame for the scaled-back version Sarkozy now proposes. But the view toward the future must be commended as a vision toward reusing and reshaping Paris' footprint.

How about Supermayor Michael Bloomberg, who is working to transform neighborhoods fraught with low income and high rates of obesity and diabetes into healthier places, on several different levels, by pushing through a new plan to encourage the building of supermarkets in these impoverished areas. Specifically, zoning and tax incentives will be built into the City zoning code and tax laws, respectively, in order to bring more stores to these neighborhoods.

Preserve the Old

Preservation is another example of reusing the old by simply keeping it in order for future users. Not everything needs to be "updated" and "modernized", but can be continued with a few upgrades here and there. In Los Angeles, where it seems even the thought of preservation a travesty, there was a recent war of words started by the Los Angeles Times, which appeared to misunderstand that the City actually already has certain safeguards in place for historic structures -- since 1962. As one responder notes, of the 880,000 parcels in Los Angeles, only 975 are "historic." Nonetheless, in a place where sprawl is king, any little reuse is a good thing.

In a quirky turn regarding preservation and recycling, the Lincoln Branch Library in Peoria, Illinois, is stuck in the difficult position of having to remove a 19th century pioneer burial ground in order to continue to use through expansion its existing 1910 building originally financed by Andrew Carnegie. The public relations person for the library noted, "'It really is an architecturally important building. . . . A used building is a preserved building."

Clever Reimaginations

How about industrial site to parkland? In Chicago, a former U.S. Steel manufacturing works is being redeveloped into a park nestled up against Lake Michigan. In the meantime, a local mead maker has struck a deal to allow 300,000 honey bees the swarm the area, in an effort to create his alcoholic concoction. As he claims, "The honey made here from wildflowers is just as good if not better than any I have found anywhere." It it works, and the land can be reused, why not?

Back in Kings Park, NY, my childhood hometown, the battle continues over the Kings Park Psychiatric Center property, which is located on 518 acres on the north shore of Long Island. Currently, the plan is likewise to convert it into a park. However, the Long Island Regional Planning Council has suggested that several of the existing buildings be reused for affordable housing. Not surprisingly, the Kings Park community has exercised its NIMBY muscles, and expressed its displeasure with such a suggestion. The State of New York remains noncommittal on the proposal. Down the road at the Pilgrim State facility, where developer Gerald Wolkoff is seeking to build a $4-billion mixed-use project, the Town of Islip is pushing ahead with public comment, in an effort to redevelop another vacant jewel on an already crowded Long Island.

The industrial site turned park that has received the most attention in these parts as of late is the new High Line park in the meatpacking district of Manhattan. It is ironic that when the Standard Hotel opened back in April, the talk was of the architectural adeptness of the new structure which towers over the new park. Of course, industrious types turned the exposed windows of the hotel into exhibition spots for sordid trysts for all to see, including the families walking the new park grounds. Ah, isn't adaptive reuse a wonderful thing?

Holdouts

Of course, recycling old spaces to make them new is not always for the better, or without reverie for the old. For instance, with the proliferation of big box stores in the Bronx, New York, one commentator harkens back to the late 1970's, when times were simpler, when people could just "hang out." In some ways, I can see his point.

And some people see attempts at reshaping places, even when it means a greener world, as not worth the view. For instance, recent efforts to construct windmills on residential properties, in an attempt to generate energy self-sufficient homes, have been rejected by local land use boards on height, aesthetic and safety grounds. Another novel approach from around the country has been using tight urban backyards as barnyards for raising chickens and other critters for very local consumption. Not everyone is excited, particularly the neighbors. In New Haven, one governmental official noted, "'Raising your own food is cool, but not when you have yards that are 20 feet by 30 feet.'" In Santa Monica, California, a similar movement is afoot whereby wannabe community gardeners are being connected with busy homeowners to create backyard community gardens to further green the southern California burg. The impetus came from a five-year waiting period for community garden space on public tracts.

On the other side of things, the view is everything. In Tokyo, a group of civic-minded residents have formed the Society to Protect Nippori's Fujimizaka, an organization designed to preserve the view corridor of Mount Fuji from the last of 16 slopes in central Tokyo from where one can view the majestic volcano. Of course, their first attempts failed to block a 14-story apartment building which is now in the way. Ever the optimists: "Then we realized there is still two-thirds of the view left. So we decided, let's protect that."

Return from the Abyss

Recycling doesn't always have to mean the land on which projects are built. Jean Chretien, the former Canadian prime minister, has reinvented himself as, among other things, a facilitator of economic development, including a $4.5 billion casino planned along the South China Sea, south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Other novel permutations of the concept of recycling includes a movement, led by such advocacy groups as one called Take Back the Land, whereby squatters are filling the void left by foreclosed homeowners to keep these otherwise vacant homes vibrant and kept. They are moving in through the front door, and receive support from neighbors, who would rather have someone there than not. The organizations do perform background checks, and require new residents to work to upkeep the house and pay the utility bills.

In Victorville, California, another approach has been employed. Where a builder defaulted on the construction of a new housing development, the bank which took over the property decided to tear down the four houses already constructed, as it was the cheaper alternative to completing the development. At least the demolition firm will be recycling the remaining usable materials. Another way to waste not, want not, is taking place in towns looking to redefine themselves from manufacturing hubs to biotech leaders. For instance, in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Shreveport, Louisiana, and Huntsville, Alabama, they are constructing new facilities to attract biotech firms. This is a risky proposition, say some, as the industry hasn't exactly been known for consistent profits. But desperate times have bred such measures as the Biopolis of Kannapolis in an attempt to save dying towns.

A Little Bit O' Hockey, and a Little Bit O' Basketball

Still other ways to reuse can be found in the field of architecture, where the controversial Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn fired renowned architect Frank Gehry, in place of a more cost-conscious vision. The second architect was then replaced with Shop Architects, which has attempted to bring back the original Gehry elements, scaled down from the original version. Nonetheless, the old becomes new again.

Farther out on Long Island, a similar project is being proposed by Charles Wang, the owner of the NHL's New York Islanders, which is facing hurdles from local officials. Dubbed the Lighthouse project, the plan is to redevelop the decrepit Nassau Coliseum, and create a hub of mixed use activity around the sea of asphalt now occupying the site.

On the other end of the recycling spectrum, in Portland, Oregon, the fondness for Memorial Coliseum has stimulated the citizenry to save the structure where the Portland Trail Blazers won an NBA Championship in 1977. The indoor space has been saved from demolition and replacement with an outdoor baseball stadium by earning a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Is It Worth Saving?

Still farther out on Long Island, plans are afoot to save what remains of Wardenclyffe, Nikola Tesla's grand lair for wireless communication technology. A group of scientists would like to save the site, which includes the foundation for a 187-foot tower which once sent out wireless messages, and the accompanying laboratory designed by famed architect Stanford White. Right now the land is up for sale, and the owner, the Agfa Corporation, is forced to sell to the highest bidder.

And then there's the other side of the ledger, where one Kansas community claims there is "wasted land." Treece, Kansas, population 140, was a thriving mining town until the 1970's. Its sister town, Picher, Oklahoma, operated in similar fashion. However, once the two places were declared Superfund sites, the EPA's course of action was to buy out the residents and relocate them rather than clean up the community. The buyouts, unfortunately, stopped at the state line, with the residents of Picher receiving the largesse. Treece remains, with the hope from residents that they will be bought out, rather than wait for the EPA to clean up their town. The EPA does intend to remediate the Kansas side. In most cases recycling is the answer. In Treece, most people just want out.

And Finally . . .

And as a parting note, the award for reuse in the most unique way in the land use realm must go to Tod Curtis, the owner of a pizzeria in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, who is finding an interesting new use for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Mr. Curtis is claiming that the village's elected officials have been conducting an "'ongoing enterprise and scheme'" against him to force him out of his building, which he has owned for 41 years, to acquire it for a new commercial and residential complex. "'You have to take a stand somewhere,'" he said. Why not with the aid of making the old new?

It's All About Tolerance

I know, I know. How can you expect to generate a following in the blogosphere when you post dangerously infrequently? Well, that certainly is a valid question. But it also got me on the subject of tolerance, and how much people are willing to take. A curious thing recently happened in a West Los Angeles neighborhood, not far from where I lived when I called LA home. The Museum of Tolerance, an institution devoted to educating visitors about the Holocaust, has received approval to expand its facilities to accommodate additional space for receptions and banquets. Not so much in the spirit that the museum seeks to expound, the neighbors are unwilling to tolerate the intrusion. This includes Frances Simon, a Holocaust survivor who lives in the area. "The traffic, noise and music would disrupt the neighborhood. . . . It's like dancing on the dead people's memory." This stark scene also brought to mind the very different sorts of "tolerance" that come into play in the land use realm. Sure, there's the tolerance of neighbors impacted by new projects. But there is also the tolerance of developers, who must decide how much they are willing to give up in order to obtain an approval. In the middle are the government actors who must make determinations, not only based on the law, but factoring in how much they are willing to tolerate in jibes, and potential litigation, that may come from unsuccessful parties.

In some cases, tolerance must extend to the idiosyncrasies of neighbors. Take for instance a recent case on the eastern end of Long Island, where a man has chosen to install a 6-foot tall smiling hot dog on his back yard lawn. The Town of East Hampton has undertaken various methods to force the resident to clean up his property, which includes other assorted "collectibles" on the parcel. The Town ultimately took him to court, resulting in a victory for the Town on a littering charge. In the end, the Town's tolerance gave out. And one man's love for crazy knick knacks suffered a setback. And how about in Coney Island, the former beach resort that faces major plans for a major facelift, where the city of New York, the major developer and a prominent civic association are at odds as to how the hallowed land should be transformed for the coming decades. The city wants to create an "amusement district," which will bring back the good ol' days. The developer wants something more practical, which incorporates hotels and retail into the equation. The civic group, the Municipal Art Society, wants a bigger scale amusement proposal to really attract the summer-going pleasure seeker. And the residents of the area just want to bring in services and economic development to keep the area viable. It's a battle of neighbor against neighbor, in a battle where it seems many of the players are missing the point of the game.

In these tough economic times, a different kind of tolerance has been required. For instance, Charles Wang, the former head of Computer Associates turned real estate developer, is still pushing ahead with his Lighthouse plan which will redevelop the area in and around the Nassau Coliseum, the current home of the New York Islanders. His method to keep the hope alive: the federal stimulus package, of course, which is being sought as a potential source for new infrastructure improvements proposed at the site. In Las Vegas, tolerance has lost out, as the lofty plans for celebrity-sponsored condo towers on the Strip have given way to cancelled plans and half-sold projects. Even gaming revenue is down. Sure, Steve Wynn, entered with the new Encore resort in December, but even he may have to tolerate some slow times. In South-Central Los Angeles, the answer has been to become a little more tolerant, and argue the cause for bringing in businesses that are still very active in the land use game, such as Wal-Mart. There, a local activist, Eddie Caire, started a petition campaign to bring the behemoth to the neighborhood, for the jobs and economic growth it could attract. And people are signing it. In Ontario, Canada, with more of a history with the government-backed approach, is injecting a half a billion dollars into transit improvements, so that "Ontario [is] a place where gridlock doesn't hold you back." Canadian mayors of some of the country's largest cities are also pushing for more transit aid, in order to fix the roads, and put people to work. As the mayor of Kitchener, Ontario explained, "The municipalities are likely the best ways to deliver some infrastructure and the jobs and the shovels in the ground." Of course, the money from the federal government will come with strings, requiring matching funds from municipalities, and time limits on using the money. In Atlanta, times are so tough that the White House is up for sale: or at least, a replica built by a home developer in the southern metropolis.

There are other issues of tolerance to contend with in the land use realm. Take the dreaded automobile. New York City has recently set forth its latest response to the infernal contraption by planning a portion of Broadway in midtown Manhattan to become a pedestrian mall, decked out with cafe tables and benches. Planned to begin in May, the effort may be extended from its initial test run. As a further cut in these tough times, the city of New York has ordered that nearly 700 city-owned cars be returned so they may be sold off and also save millions. This is in conjunction with the elimination of free parking spots for thousands of city workers in car-clogged New York. And in Los Angles, where the automobile still remains king, incidental effects are still fought in order to keep some sense of order to their built-up environment. Recently, the City adopted a ban on "supergraphics," or essentially billboard-scale drapes over buildings that also depict advertising messages. Tenants of these buildings have gotten into the battle, legally challenging landlords for their right to unobstructed view to light and the natural view beyond their windows. One dental hygienist claims it's harder to see in her office. "If I can't see properly, I could be causing people to be having undue contact with a chemical." The legal background to the supergraphics debate is a long-running court case challenging a 2002 city ordinance against new billboards. With so many drivers about town, advertisers see the large signs as a major source in getting their message out. But the recipients can only take so much.

The same is true of cell towers. Near and dear to my heart, wireless telecommunication facilities continue to sprout up as the demand for more and more amenities on mobile phones continues to increase. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 typically shifts the balance of power in the hands of the wireless providers. But municipalities and residents, when willing to fight, do have ammunition. When discussing one recent battle where the residents came out "victorious," i.e., the tower was not approved even though the gap in service remains, one expert on the residents' side concluded, "They didn't give up. . . . That's what happens when people in their community band together and put their seat belts on. They're tough." Simply put, their intolerance bred the fortitude to tolerate the fight.

And what about that symbol of international tolerance - the Olympics? Well, the recent and soon-to-be hosts of the worldwide spectacle may have something to say against it. In Beijing, the host of last summer's entry, the building boom that came to accommodate the games has left a huge cavernous wake in the midst of the world economic slowdown. By one estimate, 100 million square feet of office space, or a 14-year supply, lies vacant in the city. The majestic National Stadium used for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the track and field events, has one event scheduled this year. The venue built for baseball will be demolished to make way for a shopping mall. Forty-three billion dollars and 1.5 million displaced residents later, China is left to pick up the pieces. Sure, the vacancies are piling up in the U.S., as well, but at least most of the empty space at one time had been full. In Vancouver, the host of the upcoming 2010 Winter Games, the City of Vancouver is suffering from the pressures of putting on a good show. The City's debt rating has been downgraded, and the cost overruns have extended over the $125 million mark. The cause was Vancouver's decision to take the reins of the financing for the Olympic Village for the incoming athletes, to ensure a timely completion for the host's Olympic overlords.

It is not just the Olympics that have caused such upheaval for the hosts of large-scale sporting events. For New Delhi, which is hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games, similar large-scale projects are planned. In order for the space to be available for the new athletic venues, and to provide a "cleaner" image for those newcomers who will see the metropolis for the first time, the government has demolished and cleared out existing slum areas around the city. Although the city plans to build new residential units for some of these slum dwellers, the need is more than the planned supply. Inevitably, those left out will have to tolerate even worse conditions to survive in the city. On the other end of the ledger, in Los Angeles, plans are underway to end the tolerance of slipshod housing conditions, by initiating new plans for providing affordable housing to its needy residents. Included amongst the plan are "housing incentive zones," which will provide relaxed zoning standards and expedited permitting if affordable units are included in new housing plans.

Talking about affordable housing, what about those who have no chance of buying anything in pricey New York City, even in the reduced-rate climate of today? Count myself in that category. But a novel fund-raising plan at the Queens Museum of Art allows cash-strapped and real estate-poor New Yorkers to purchase their own little piece of heaven - a "home" on the 9,335 square-foot model of the city that the museum houses as a remnant from the 1964 World's Fair. Since updated to include new structures, like the newly-opened Citi Field, a model house can be had, at tolerable prices. For $250, a donor can buy a single family home. New Yorkers already tolerate pretty cramped quarters to begin with, but this may be pushing it too far.

What about inventive ways to make it through the intolerable economic downturn? Take Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where construction and economic growth continues, thanks to plans that began back in the early 1980's to overcome the cataclysmic shift away from the steel industry. The growth of education and health care in the region has fostered an economy that has withstood the deepest effects of the current recession. A new casino and a new hockey arena anchor the blossoming investment in the former rust belt town. But even Pittsburgh is beginning to feel the pain. The question is, can it withstand another downturn? There's no choice but to fight.

But putting aside the economic woes, if it's possible, there are still good ol' conventional land use issues out there that resolve around people's ability to tolerate (or not tolerate) everyone else. For instance, in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, the city council recently imposed a moratorium on new drive-throughs within their municipality. Queuing lines out onto roadways have caused increasing concerns, especially at those establishments that serve people's morning coffee. As a local blogger noted, in blaming the council for approving the drive-throughs in the first place, that, "We have a legitimate problem, an inconvenience at best - a danger at worst." St. John's is not willing to take it anymore. On a larger scale, the issue of coal ash is becoming more than a simple nuisance, in light of a recent spill of toxic sludge in Eastern Tennessee. Despite periodic efforts to control these byproducts of coal production, there are over 1,300 dumps around the United States that house these materials, which contain potentially harmful heavy metals. Will the Environmental Protection Agency under the new leadership seek to do more? Only time, and tolerance, will tell.

In Los Angeles, the newly re-elected mayor, Anthony Villaraigosa, is getting antsy with the protracted timetable for his "Subway to the Sea," the grand plan to provide viable public transport for denizens of that city's heavily-populated west side. As of right now, the plan would have the transit line making it to the Westwood neighborhood by 2032, and no definite plan to continue to the sea several miles further to the west in Santa Monica. This line is being planned in conjunction with several other light-rail lines to be added to the existing fledgling network around the metropolis. But will the mayor be able to wait the time it will take to get everything done? In New Orleans, there is no time like the present to keep rebuilding the city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The city has $19 billion in federal money burning a hole in its pockets, allowing it to continue to lift itself from the depths. Even tourism is holding its own, with a bustling Mardi Gras celebration having taken place this year. For those who put up with the worst of times, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

How about tolerance for gay rights? Not exactly a topic that always comes to the fore in the land use context, but in California, a recent court decision jumped into the fray in the property context. The court ruled that where a local congregation of the Anglican Church decided to break away from the national organization because the national church had consecrated a gay man, the national church may take back the local church property. Part of a larger national issue in which hundreds of congregations are seeking to break from the national organization, the ruling may stem this tide, and force a little more tolerance on these rogue congregations.

Back in LA, where it seems the level of tolerance is dangerously low, there is another reason to be disgruntled where new parking regulations will extend the hours when you have to feed the meter, particularly in neighborhoods with nighttime entertainment options. In Chicago, people are mad as hell about McMansions, and have come up with a way to fight the technique in established communities of tearing down smaller homes and replacing them with behemoths. North Shore suburbs such as Evanston and Winnetka have instituted so-called "demolition taxes" against this practice, in order for towns to recoup losses caused by damage to parkway trees and roads. Some towns are using the fees for affordable-housing plans. Others also see it as another revenue stream in the downturn.

And what about Donald Trump? Who can stand him? He's raised the ire of some with his plan to build a catering hall on the south shore of Long Island. He won the first round in state court, but won't start constructing until he learns the fate of his $500 million damage claim for all of the delays caused by the State of New York. Sure, he could build now, he says. "The credit markets are terrible, but I could finance it many times over with my personal account." Nonetheless, he's decided to tolerate the wait required to watch the machinery of justice go to work. On the other side of the country, in Cabazon, California, the most hated man is Calvin Louie, the head of the Cabazon Water District, which serves the brave 2,300 who live in the unincorporated area outside Palm Springs. The battle for water is so contentious, and Louie operates such a tight ship, that some customers have expressed their displeasure in unique ways. One unknown subject dropped a slithering rattlesnake through the mail slot of the tiny office. "It was a pretty good size, too, slithered right under the desk." It's a level of hatred perhaps approaching the depth, if not the breath, of the hatred for Mr. Trump.

And in the forests of the great north, the question of tolerance is how the long the rest of us will be able to shoulder the practices contributing to global warming, which are causing the great Canadian forests to the north to dramatically shift from carbon suckers to carbon generators. In Oregon, the Interior Department recently opened up 2.6 million acres of federal forests to increased logging, which has caused the battle to rage again over how much is enough to cut. Like all of the above matters, the question comes down to what's most important, and what values can be preserved in times of crisis.

But not everyone is suffering these days. In Battle Mountain, Nevada, the area is awash in money as they benefit from the skyrocketing value of gold. Mining the valuable mineral in the surrounding area, the desolate area has enjoyed a boom in these sad times. The question will be for the residents, when good times do return for the rest of the economy, whether this run was worth the harder times that would return when the value of gold inevitably falls again. But for the immediate, the real question for the denizens of Battle Mountain is if they can stand driving 75 miles for decent Chinese food.

Shepherds

Okay, okay, so I've been a bit naughty in neglecting my blogging duties over the last few months, but now that it is the holiday season, it is time to try to return to the ranks of the nice. With all the coming talk of shepherding as a noble profession, especially in connection with the little guy born on December 25th all those years ago that we'll be celebrating shortly, it seems fitting that thoughts of what land use is all about oftentimes revolves around a different type of shepherding. As I sat through a planning board hearing last week, waiting for the board to approve an application, I thought a lot about how what we do is nudge projects along, making sure people, and the omnipresent paperwork, get to their proper destination, and with the desired effect. The reason why things do or don't happen is because of the champions of causes that may or may not stand the test of the centuries.

Why do projects, or places, succeed or fail? It is standard fare to take a hard look at a place, and determine whether it is a locale to be, or simply a spot that languishes in the past. For instance, a recent account took a hard look at the Great American Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee, and its failed dreams of bringing prosperity to the region that surrounds it. Unlike the similarly-shaped edifices in Giza, Egypt, the Memphis version has become a relic in a generation. The shepherd in this case was Sidney Shlenker, who sold Memphis on a grand vision of a pyramid that would serve all people with a multiplicity of possible uses. However, Mr. Shlenker failed to make it to the finish line, losing his role in the venture when he could not raise his portion of the cost to build it. Constructed on low-lying ground at the edge of the Mississippi, it has become bypassed, especially with the construction of the FedEx Forum arena just down the road where the NBA's Grizzlies now play, as well as the Memphis Tigers, who were an original tenant. Now the Pyramid sits largely unused, without a shepherd to find a purpose for the abandoned dream palace.

How about in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where at its founding, there were thoughts of it being the metropolis of the Mountain West. However, Denver won out long ago, with stronger shepherds leading it into the promise land. Again, absent strong shepherds to protect its future, carpetbaggers from Denver are slowly creeping into their territory, seeking out cheaper land and lower taxes to the north. As part of this exodus, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, based in Boulder, Colorado, is building a new supercomputer in Cheyenne to be a part of its research network. Instead of seeking to preserve the character of their small city, the caretakers of Cheyenne are choosing to be a part of the herd following into Denver's orbit. For instance, Wyoming State Senator Michael Von Flatern is part of a state legislative initiative looking into constructing a commuter railroad from Wyoming to New Mexico, all in the interest of serving the growing behemoth to the south. As Senator Von Flatern reasons, "Economics is what we are really after. . . . Denver will be a big megalopolis, and if things move forward on the rail line, and Colorado does their party, I would want Wyoming to tie in." Rather than taking the horns, it seems Cheyenne is subject to the whims of other more powerful shepherds.

As can be seen, it takes strong forces to push through anything, be it big or small. On the big side of things, Florida's governor Charlie Crist, the state's Department of Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management District, environmentalists and United States Sugar have pushed through the plan for the government to acquire 300 square miles of land that will be converted back to wetland use in order to improve the increasingly deteriorating water quality situation in the area, as well as reverse the heavy development that has overtaken the region in the last few decades. On the small side of things, nobody less than the U.S. Congress and the ACLU (and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court) have jumped into the fray in a seemingly simple matter of a cross constructed decades ago by the VFW on public land in the middle of the Mohave Desert. It all started because of Frank Buono, a retired U.S. Park Service employee, who sued the service over the cross's installation. With the aid of other shepherds, it has become a federal case. Moreover, on the outskirts of Chicago, eight municipalities have struck deals with Canadian National Railway to mitigate the noise and safety concerns generated by the rights-of-way which cross through their burgs. Tired of fighting, the municipal leaders pushed through plans that seek to solve long-standing conflicts with having trains occupy some of their rolling prairies.

Even though such matters receive the attention and care that ultimately pushes them through to fruition, it does not mean that they face hurdles. But it is because of the shepherds that they ultimately do reach the finish line. Take for instance the case of a new national biological defense laboratory, which will be home to the most treacherous diseases on earth. It is located on Galveston Island, Texas, which was, and continues to be, susceptible to hurricanes whipping in from the Gulf of Mexico. "It's crazy, in my mind," says an environmental lawyer in the area. But in the end, the University of Texas, who runs the facility, has better lawyers and public relations professionals, who sold the project to the community in terms of good jobs for the area. On the smaller side of things, in Santa Monica, California, a few irate neighbors took back the highly coveted Fourth Street traffic median where exercisers stretch and grunt their ways into the ire of the people who have to live near it. The residents have forced the City Police to enforce an ancient ordinance prohibiting such nefarious activities. The NIMBY contingent faced the return fire from the healthy types, who blatantly continue to use the space, at least until the tickets at $158 a pop begin to be written. At least for now, the neighbors have won the battle.

The shepherds can come from any corner, at any time. It seems fitting to acknowledge the passing of one such herder, Dorothy Miner, the former counsel to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Deeply involved in the seminal Penn Central case, which set the stage for the Supreme Court's takings jurisprudence over the past three decades, she was a tireless advocate, and innovator, in preserving the historical character of the city, including lower Manhattan's Dutch street configuration. Her techniques spread across the country in an effort to hold onto America's built environment past.

And finally, let us not forget what happened last month. After the euphoria (or depression, depending which side of the fence you sat) of November 4th, the real question for President-Elect Barack Obama is how he intends to lead. Lofty expectations follow him, and his built-in detractors are already lining up to nitpick at his Cabinet selections. Sure, Obama has spoken on various land use-related topics during the course of the endless campaign, but any real impact from the new President in the world of development will no doubt be funneled through the loftier issues of economic stimulus packages and environmental policy. Who will his shepherds be? Well, some answers have been offered, including Representative Ray LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, as the Secretary of Transportation, Lisa Jackson, former New Jersey DEP head, as the new EPA Administrator, Steven Chu, a Nobel-winning physicist, as the Energy Secretary, Nancy Sutley, who was an advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the new chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Obama's so-called "climate czar," former EPA chief Carol Browner and Senator Ken Salazar from Colorado as the next Interior Secretary. How will they do? Only time will tell. But either way, they have entered a noble calling, which I continue to labor on along with them, down at ground level.

So, How've You Been?

Okay, so things are scary out there these days, with no real end in sight. As with everyone, I'm touched by the craziness happening in the kooky place we call "the market." My wife is an AIG employee, and it seems my clients are just as distressed by the economic woes even if they aren't asking for a multi-billion dollar bailout/rescue/golden parachute/handout. But despite it all, it is heartening to know that we can still find the time to squabble over the newest big development to come into town, and on the other side of the ledger, work together to improve our collective built-up environment. Let's start with the heartwarming side of the coin, in Rochester, New York, of all places. The city's Regional Transit Service has actually decided to reduce the price of a fare on its buses, from $1.25 to a buck. How have they done it? By responding to the demands of the marketplace, no less. And a little ingenuity. The agency has reached out to institutions reliant on the system, like the public school district, colleges and businesses, to pay for its riders. The local state representative was able to lobby for more funding. And the leaders of the transit organization adjusted its routes to meet demand, and eliminated routes that people didn't use. Sure, it's a tiny system in comparison to other behemoths like New York City to the south, but the Rochester approach does suggest a way that public transit can work, and actually turn a profit.

How about in such places as Los Angeles, Seattle and Baltimore, where alleys are back. Once destined for suspicious, if not criminal type behavior, alleyways are being reborn as places to stow garages so that homes can have porches again out in front, spaces to help to reduce dirty runoff and locales where greenways return to the urban landscape. Researchers at the University of Southern California are looking at how the poorer neighborhoods of their region can benefit from underused alleys. Over the last few decades, a piecemeal city program attempted to improve things by gating off troubled alleys. Some turned into park-like settings for local residents -- a veritable Gramercy Park in South L.A. -- while others ended up being abandoned wastelands. One caretaker, sixty-nine year old Virginia Beck, patrols her prized alley she planted herself, and keeps a .38-caliber pistol in her bedroom just in case.

How about in the Adirondacks of upstate New York, where a 14,600-acre swath southwest of the Olympic village of Lake Placid has been purchased by the Nature Conservancy to eventually add to the Adirondack Forest Preserve. It will become part of the larger Adirondack Park, which is still a stitched-together expanse that also includes 103 towns and villages. The park is an attempt to restore nature alongside the needs of residents. In another rejection of expanding into the green hinterlands, a report from Canada depicts the continuing trend of people eschewing the suburbs in favor of more urban type living. Trading square footage for shorter commutes and longer time to spend at home, families are moving back to the city, and trying to bring others with them, sending real estate listings back to their suburban friends. And how about across the other border, in Mexico City, where Sundays mean bicicletas, or bicycles, and other non-engine driven modes of transport, which take over numerous roadways in the megacity's historic district. Once a month, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard also unleashes the Cicloton, a 20-mile course for bicyclists to roam free. As many as 70,000 cyclists have been drawn to this urban grand prix course for bike riders. The hope is that people will carry over to using their bikes during the week.

But in this year of the election, people cannot forget to squabble over differences of opinion on how we should live amongst our structures and infrastructure. Not even the Obama/McCain conversation has been immune. For instance, McCain's bubbly running mate, Sarah Palin, had to face a bit of scrutiny over not just her naming of Supreme Court cases, but also the look of her beloved Wasilla, Alaska, which she governed as Mayor before hitting the big time. One commentator took a trip to Wasilla, and found something other than a "quaint mountain village." Instead, he had this to say: "Some towns have character. Some have a sense of place. And then there is Wasilla, which greets visitors with Wal-mart, Target, Lowe's Kentucky Fried Chicken, Carl's Jr., McDonald's and Taco Bell. They paved paradise, and all they've got to show for it is chalupas and discount tube socks." At the end, he compared the planning prowess of Wasilla's representatives to that of Los Angeles. Well, we didn't exactly expect Palin to be a green candidate, with that whole moose meets helicopter thing.

But aside from the election, people have still found time to keep tabs on what developers are trying to do out in the world. For instance, in Dubai, environmentalists have voiced strong objections to a new $1.5 billion hotel built on a man made island shaped like a palm tree. Intended to be a family destination, the Atlantic hotel and resort, like its sister resort in the Bahamas, is part of a targeted plan by Dubai to be a tourist destination once the oil is gone. The Palm Jumeirah island is only one of a handful to be placed in the Persian Gulf. Among other claims, the objections to the project include that the island itself will damage coral reefs and change water currents. In addition, Atlantis, as an ocean-themed resort, will have a huge water tank which will include a full range of creatures, including dolphins that had to be flown in from the Solomon Islands. In India, a larger battle looms over the push to industrialize, against the needs of subsistence farmers to retain their farmland to live. Scarce real estate is being fought over in a process that will result in the path the subcontinent will seek over the course of the coming decades. At the heart of it all is the land.

And then there are the more mundane matters here at home that are much more important for the people most closely affected. For instance, in Obama's old turf of Chicago, his old employer, the University of Chicago, is quietly gobbling up prime tracts around its current boundaries in efforts to acquire more space to grow. Or that is the answer that the university is supplying to the savvy few who have seen past the land trust in whose name the parcels are being bought. It is interesting to note that if Chicago were to earn the rights to host the 2016 Olympics, the U. of C. would be sitting on some expensive land that may be the site of the new Olympic stadium. The school has answered such claims with its long-standing goals of helping to revitalize the surrounding community by spurring development. Either way, the news itself has helped to keep people otherwise occupied. The same is true in San Diego County, California, where over 600 people were slated to speak on a proposed tollway through state park land. The California Coastal Commission has already denied the application. Now it is the U.S. Department of Commerce to weigh in on the proposal. Again it has brought out a huge throng in opposition. And in Dana Point, California, where the 30-year battle over Dana Point Headlands, a oceanfront home development, is finally ending with the project being built, cries from local residents and environmentalists continue. Called "catastrophic" from these foes, the new abodes have required significant grading work on the once pristine shoreline swath. However, city officials see it as a win, as sixty-eight acres of parks and trails were added in the deal. Either way, the end is near to a long battle.

It is hard not to keep an eye on how the stock market is doing today, and an eye on the health of the business entities that impact your own life. But maybe having no end isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's good to know that despite the uncertainty of the future, there is certainty that we have to continue to tend to our neighborhoods, bring new things and opportunities to our areas and do our part to push on and out of these troubling times. My wife and I are doing our part by moving into a new apartment, with more room and a back yard. Things will get better. And we might as well get to it sooner than later.

Buzz in the Air

While on vacation in the Canadian Rockies, and having a little time to actually catch up on things aside from lipstick and pigs and illegitimate Republicans, I came out of the cocoon of my summer and realized there is a lot going on around the world when it comes to land use. In Canada, I marveled at observing similar land use innovations to those that are happening south of the border on our side of things. For a portion of my trip, I was in Calgary, which isn't exactly a hotbed of excitement. However, seeing light rail trains criss-cross through the city warmed my heart. Strolling through a pedestrian mall in the middle of downtown, I could see the machinery of thought the city fathers and mothers undertook to keep this part of their metropolis vital. Not that the city requires any assistance. It seemed on nearly every corner new projects, both commercial and residential, were reaching towards the sky. A few burgeoning, hipster neighborhoods sprinkled at the downtown fringe also reminded me of home in Brooklyn. And as my wife and I made our trek out of town to the mountains, the suburban edges exposed age-old issues when it comes to addressing the growth needs of a community.

But it wasn't just my travels through Alberta that caught my attention. I actually had a bit of time to read and catch up. The Globe and Mail, a wonderful national newspaper in Canada, ran a story while I was up north about congestion pricing schemes being discussed in the urban areas of Canada. A periodical I picked up at the local health food store called The Earth Island Journal was exploring familiar, but interesting territory when it comes to congestion pricing, as well as the latest from Curitiba, Brazil, where the almost futuristic vision of the city's leaders brought the most comprehensive urban bus system, it seems in the world, to its citizenry in the mid-1960's. Even the Calgary Herald, in running a special edition on the paper's 125th anniversary, couldn't help but explore the issues involved with suburban sprawl on the city's edges, as well as the opportunities in rehabilitating the inner suburbs to support the region's massive growth. This expansion appears to be driven by the largesse dropped in the laps of oil companies, who seem to drive the area's economy.

Back in the States, I discovered a fabulous series that has been running in the Chicago Tribune on the inner workings of the land use process in the Second City. Sure, a lot of the focus is on muckraking, and finding the inherent conflicts, as well as outright graft, going on in the various nooks of the city. But such a window into a seemingly foreign world, when you don't practice there on a day-to-day basis, can be extremely illuminating. And in these highly political times, isn't it intriguing that the words green and Arnold Schwarzenegger can be used in the same sentence? In California, the Governator will most likely receive a bill working its way through the legislature that would bring state comprehensive planning to the land of sprawl. According to one account, the plan will integrate regional planning, transportation fund allocation and affordable housing needs into land use decision making. Whether Ah-nold will be signing the measure is unclear. Either way, it's a huge step that may become another step in the direction towards sound land use policy in a place where the land use culture has often devolved into pure wild west show.

The flurry of activity doesn't end there. As they say, wait -- there's more! On the foreclosure front, some municipalities such as Boston, Minneapolis and San Diego are getting into the flipping business. These regions are buying, with help from private investors, foreclosed homes, refurbishing them, and selling them off in an effort to hold onto communities devastated by the disaster that doesn't seem to want to go away anytime soon. In less grim news, and harkening back to my walks through Calgary, it seems streetcars are making a comeback. After the auto industry pushed the streetcar out of existence in the 1940's and 1950's, leading to tracks being ripped up in favor of smoother urban streets for cars, the pendulum has swung back. Places like Cincinnati are jumping on the bandwagon led by other locales like Denver, Houston, Salt Lake City and Charlotte. People see the results in such towns as Portland, Oregon, and realize that public transportation isn't necessarily a dirty word. Of course, the usual critics out there point to the fact that such plans are essentially publicly-funded subsidies for the downtown core. This analysis carefully dodges the speeding streetcar carrying the obvious retort -- that's the point. Streetcar systems are part of strategies from public policymakers seeking to reinvest in central cities, reversing the subsidies funneled to the urban fringe that produced the current land use, energy and environmental predicament we find ourselves.

How about the stories that seem to be on the edge of the land use radar, but certainly fall under the umbrella of trends to follow. Take for example in Los Angeles, where the City Council has decided to use typical land use mechanisms to respond to a clear issue affecting many poorer neighborhoods around the country. The proposed measure would impose a moratorium on all fast food restaurants in South Central Los Angeles, one of the less affluent areas within the metropolis. Of course, the restaurant lobby is up in arms, as well as observers who believe that the government is going too far to help regulate healthier lifestyles. But the entire zoning framework is used to delineate where certain uses should be placed. This appears to be another such example. In addition, it has been a chronic issue that poorer neighborhoods are woefully underrepresented when it comes to purveyors of healthier food options, and even a seemingly axiomatic supermarket. In any event, it is a different way to use the power to zone to accomplish public policy goals.

And, from the annals of the more things change . . . it's certainly nice to see that things stay rosy in certain necks of the woods, even when things seem so gloomy in general. Take my hometown of Brooklyn, where the big box (in more ways than one) furniture retailer Ikea has moved to once dormant Red Hook, the naysayers have actually embraced the typically controversial type of development. It sure helps when Ikea offers water taxi and shuttle bus service from other parts of the city, and installs a pretty waterfront esplanade. Linked up with its affordable yet stylish furnishing options, and cheap hot dogs at its cafe, Ikea has brought a winning combination to Brooklyn. Out in the desert in Arizona, more good vibes are coming from Kingman, which is benefiting from the overflow from bloated Las Vegas. Not just the home to the closest Cracker Barrel restaurant to Los Angeles, new housing developments may bring upwards of 80,000 new homes to the now-quiet burg by 2040. With a new bridge over the Colorado into Nevada, that means more opportunity and access to the giant to the north. Of course just because it's slightly to the south doesn't mean there's necessarily more water (which the developers' hydrologists believe there is). But who needs to sweat details when the future looks bright? And down in the Everglades, plans continue to be pursued to preserve the fast-disappearing ecosystem. Florida has agreed to purchase 187,000 acres from United States Sugar to help recreate the historic flow of water from Lake Okeechobee down through the Everglades. Of course, the plan is a little more complicated than this, in that the purchased property would be used in a later swap with another sugar company, Florida Crystals, for the land the state really needs to carry out its vision. Either way, it is part of a continuing push to return an important region in the state's past to an integral part of its future. And this is really what land use is about -- how to adjust and project for the future. That's what keeps the buzz ongoing, no matter what time of year it may be.