St. Louis seems to be a never-ending source of stadium financing controversy.
Sarah Fenske provides a post-mortem on a deal that allow taxpayer funding of a renovation of the Scottrade Center, home of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues.
"Faced with two principled stands against a giveaway of money for Scottrade Center that could cost St. Louis taxpayers $107 million, the Blues fought hard," writes Fenske.
Fenske's assessment of the situation is that development interests with aggressive lawyers run the city, and the article includes all the gory details of the lawsuits that overcame the opposition to deliver taxpayer funding to the project.
St. Louis has navigated a series of stadium proposal controversies in recent years. First there was the scramble to build a new NFL stadium in the failed effort to keep the National Football League's Rams in the city. Later, St. Louis voters rejected a soccer stadium proposal that would have relied in part on public financing. Still, some developers keep coming back to the well. In October, developers announced plans for a Ballpark Village that would rely on a $105 million bond offering by the St. Louis Industrial Development Authority.
Read the full story: Scottrade Litigation Proves You Can't Fight City Hall — Even From Inside It
People’s Park—Symbol of Berkeley’s Storied Past—Temporarily Cleared and Fenced Off for Development
A few days after a judge’s ruling cleared three pending lawsuits blocking the development of People’s Park, the unhoused people living in the park were cleared and fence surrounds the site. Protestors took back the park within a day.
Gowanus Rezoning Clears Post-Approval Legal Hurdle
The saga of the Gowanus Neighborhood Planning Study, approved by New York City at the end of 2021, continues into the summer of 2022. Opponents claimed the Gowanus rezoning ran afoul of the state’s environment law. A county judge dismissed the case.
Minneapolis 2040 Implementation Allowed to Proceed … For Now
The same judge that blocked implementation of the landmark Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan in June 2022 has allowed a temporary reprieve for planning work in the city to proceed.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority