Development Approvals

The temporary board will help speed up the application review process during a development boom.

November 28, 2023 - Governing

A new analysis of developer-initiated rezonings in Louisville, Kentucky sheds light on how the land use regulation system works.

November 16, 2022 - Urban Institute

Housing advocates hope a charter amendment that would streamline the development approval process will make it to the November ballot.

April 7, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

In the context of planning and development, an entitlement is the legal agreement between a government and a landowner to allow a proposed development.

February 22, 2022 - James Brasuell

Discretionary approval requires an appointed or elected body of officials to decide whether or not to proceed with a development. Discretionary approval is usually reserved for development proposals that don't conform to zoning or building codes, but other regulatory triggers can also create the need for a discretionary approval process.

February 8, 2022 - James Brasuell

The doomed effort was Mayor London Breed's third attempt to streamline development in the city.

January 31, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

A development approval process decides whether or not to allow a proposed development project to proceed with construction. There is plenty of room for interpretation, both legal and political, about what a development approval process can or should entail.

January 27, 2022 - James Brasuell

A by-right approval (also known as an as-of-right approval) is granted when a development proposal strictly conforms to zoning and building codes and, thus, qualifies for construction without requiring discretionary approval.

December 9, 2021 - James Brasuell

In a decision that is still impossible in most of the country, Chicago's Department of Planning and Development is requiring housing and reduced surface parking to approve a retail project.

February 24, 2021 - Streetsblog Chicago

A trio of Fort Worth city councilmembers are trying to hit the brakes on the recent wave of multi-family housing developments requiring zoning changes in the growing city.

January 14, 2021 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A stinging critique of the public review process in New York City.

November 30, 2020 - Curbed

New Jersey is now home to one of the "most stringent" environmental justice laws in the country.

September 30, 2020 - Next City

Some high-profile projects, including a 77-story tower, hang in the balance of a federal corruption case, but it's unclear whether Los Angeles can undo the approvals, whether they were achieved through bribes or not.

July 30, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

New Orleans is attempting a "major paradigm shift" in marrying land use control with economic development goals.

July 30, 2020 - The Lens

The planning approvals process took a black eye in Boston last year, when a bribery scandal sent a Boston Planning and Development Agency staffer to jail.

February 25, 2020 - The Boston Globe

A development controversy also now an expanding legal controversy, after a local planning commission rejected a controversial development proposal allowed by zoning.

February 24, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

A ballot initiative by San Francisco Mayor London Breed would make it easier for qualifying developments (e.g., developments that include affordable housing) to sidestep discretionary approvals.

February 6, 2020 - The New York Times

A massive new development at the former site of a polluting power plant is moving forward in the City by the Bay.

February 3, 2020 - Curbed San Francisco

If passed, a new law would require homeless shelter developments in New York City to undergo the full Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.

January 29, 2020 - Staten Island Advance

The new chair of the Planning and Land Use Management committee of the Los Angeles City Council will influence how the city grapples with homelessness, an expanding rail system, and the 2028 Olympics.

February 27, 2019 - The Planning Report