Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Crafting a state-specific land use law casebook: The example of Idaho

What does a land use law casebook look like if it is written from a state-specific point of view? 

I've thought about this a lot, given that I am a co-author on a national land use law casebook with some amazing co-authors. 

It has also been on my mind for awhile because I went to law school in California, urban planning school in California, practiced land use law in California, but have lived in Idaho for the past 10 years.  While California has a significant literature on planning, Idaho has, well, basically one treatise written by several (very good) lawyers at a local firm.  Does Idaho need anything more? 

Recently, I thought yes.  And so I produced some 1,300 pages of cases and excerpts of law review articles along the lines of what you'd find if you bought one of the national treatises.  The difference is...everything in this casebook is about Idaho.  

Consider that Boise is arguably the fastest-growing city in America, by some standards the least affordable city in America, and that the West faces unprecedented climate risks.  All of this makes the importance of state-based land use law especially important in these places.  Places like Boise, places like Idaho.  I felt this was needed, and so I wrote it.  Maybe it will be of use, and maybe it will have been a lark.  No matter, it is done (at least as far as first editions go).

Below is the table of contents on my inaugural version of the Idaho land use law casebook.  I'd love to see what others have produced in other places, and perhaps begin a conversation about what land use law looks like when we prioritize state-specific law.

The full first edition version of the Idaho land use law casebook is here (for free):  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3986648

 

 

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December 15, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (1)