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Easements
Conservation Easement Program Protects 100,000 Acres of Agricultural Land in New York State
A state famous for its largest city is making a concerted effort to protect agricultural lands as part of a larger national push.
What Is an Easement?
There are limits to the rights and powers associated with land ownership. Easements are a critical example of how property rights can be balanced with the needs of neighbors, the public, and other interests external to the control of property owners.
Trails and Rails Battle in San Francisco Bay Shoreline Park
Can freight trains and a scenic shoreline park along San Francisco Bay coexist, or are they incompatible uses? The East Bay Regional Park District voted to remove old rail tracks that BNSF Railway wants to reactivate. A local court may decide.
When Pennsylvania's 'Right to Farm' Means Living With the Pigs Next Door
New residents to formerly agricultural area are trying to shut down a hog-feeding operation, but so far without much success.
Farmland Preservation a Hot Topic in Idaho's Most Populous County
As the city of Boise and surrounding communities in Ada County, Idaho continue to grow and sprawl outward, agricultural land in the county may become a thing of the past.
Dept. Store Blocks Use of Easement to Stifle Competition
A Sears Shopping Center in Lincoln Park, Michigan has found a novel way to kill their competitor - close the easement the developer is using to access the property.
Preserving Land For Future Generations
An easement often grants a third party, mainly a utility company, limited rights to properties not belonging to them. In North Fork, Colorado, conservation easements do the opposite by preserving the "heaven here on earth," says Kathy Browning.
Owner of Valuable Railroad Easement is a Mystery
16 overgrown acres of land hide a long-unused railroad easement in Muskegee -- so long unused that no one knows who owns it. Muskegee Development wants it.
An Ursine Easement
A forest management company in Northern Idaho has set aside a 647-acre grizzly bear habitat. Part of the deal is that the company will not log while the grizzlies are in the house.
Conservation Easements on the Rise
This piece from Miller-McCune looks at the conservation easement and explains how the legal device is being used to protect land and prevent sprawl.
Easements Gone Wrong
When a nonprofit conservancy dissolves, their land trusts go into limbo, calling the restrictions on development into question.
The Shifting Tide of Public and Private Space
In Malibu, CA, private property extends to the high tide waterline, where public land begins. An unofficial group of "urban rangers" is giving tours and dance performances along that line to explore the absurdity.
Turning Unbuilt Project Sites Into Open Space
DeLuca Homes planned to build condos in Bucks County, PA- until the bottom fell out of the market. Now they're one of many developers cutting deals with governments to create open space.
Beach Access Blocked By Homeowners
A $5 million project on Long Beach Island to restore the eroding beachfront is stymied by homeowners who don't want to allow easements through their property.
Airport Easements Cause Uproar
A new airport overlay district in Sioux Falls, South Dakota has nearby homeowners crying 'taking!' Airport officials say, 'All we're trying to do is make sure we have good neighbors.'
Easements in the Spotlight, As Colorado Forests Go Residential
As logging declines in Colorado forests, developers are preparing to build in pockets wedged in-between parkland. The proper use of historic easements is at the center of the debate.
Reinventing Conservation Easements
In recent decades conservation easements—promises to restrict land development—have become enormously popular, but now they are in trouble.
City of Madera
City of Santa Clarita
Borough of Carlisle
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Colorado Energy Office
Pima County Community College District
City of Piedmont, CA
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
