Planner’s Bar: Legal Risk Aversion and Best Practices

Course Details

Very often, the extent to which planners are familiar with land-use law issues depends upon case law studied in school or presented in the latest certification maintenance session. While understanding case law is important, there are many unresolved questions about and challenges to the legality of policies and decisions that planners implement in everyday practice.

This presentation aims to improve planners' confidence in assessing the legal implications of their actions and advocate for best practices with municipal attorneys. Learn communication techniques to manage risk-averse attorneys in the presence of ever-adapting planning policies and municipal decision-making tools. Using various legal case studies, presenters explore how the sensibility of legal counsel may best be balanced with community vision, policy, and future land-use goals during development of progressive, defensible regulatory tools.

Learning Outcomes

• Defend and advocate for good practice in legal challenges.
• Assess legal risk and certainty in land-use regulations, appropriately balancing flexibility and rigidity.
• Implement regulatory tools that are manageable, defensible, and facilitate good investment.