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Legalizing the Tiny House
Sightline, June 27, 2016by: Alyse Nelson, AICPThis blog post explains how state and local regulations in Cascadia limit opportunities to site and occupy tiny houses. -
Tiny Houses as a Workable Option to House the Homeless
MRSC Insight Blog, January 24, 2017by: Stephen Butler, FAICPThis blog post discusses existing tiny house communities in Washington and Oregon and discusses tiny houses as a strategy for housing the homeless. -
Tiny Homes in Golden, Colorado
2016This fact sheet explains how Golden, CO, regulates different types of tiny houses.Golden, CO -
Tiny Houses in Portland, Maine
n.d.by: Jeffrey Levine, AICPThis fact sheet explains how Portland, ME, regulates tiny houses.Portland, ME -
Construction Guidelines for Tiny Homes
Knoxville, TN, Plans Review & Inspection Division, n.d.This fact sheet explains how Knoxville, TN, regulates tiny houses.Knoxville, TN -
Tiny Houses
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Code Fact Sheet, n.d.This fact sheet explains how local zoning and state building codes affect tiny houses in Minnesota.Minnesota -
Tiny House Fact Sheet and FAQs
Nebraska Public Service Commission, n.d.This fact sheet explains how state building codes and local zoning affect manufactured tiny houses in Nebraska.Nebraska -
Marijuana Policy
2017This webpage provides links to a number of reports, blog posts, and podcasts that provide background on the evolution of federal and state legislation and administrative policies regarding medical and recreational marijuana-related uses and activities. -
Deep Dive: Marijuana
2017This webpage provides links to articles, blog posts, and other resources that document the evolution of marijuana legalization efforts across the U.S. -
Medical Marijuana
2017This website serves as a clearinghouse for information on both sides of the medical marijuana debate. -
The Gray Zone in the Power of Local Municipalities: Where Zoning Authority Clashes with State Law
Journal of Business Entrepreneurship & Law, 5: 215-241, 2012by: Skye DaleyThis article uses the example of local prohibitions on medical marijuana dispensaries in California to discuss the limits of local zoning authority. -
Evaluating Medical Marijuana Dispensary Policies: Spatial Methods for the Study of Environmentally‐Based Interventions
American Journal of Community Psychology, 51(1-2): 278-288, 2013by: Bridget Freisthler, Nancy Kepple, John Revel SimsThis article examines how local zoning or licensing standards for medical marijuana dispensaries may affect nearby incidences of crime. -
Where to Put It-The Confusing Question of How to Deal with Marijuana Dispensaries
University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development, 3: 79-88, 2013by: Ian MorrisonThis article makes a case for less-restrictive zoning for marijuana dispensaries. -
Examining the Locations of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles
Drug and Alcohol Review, 35(3): 334-337, 2015by: Crystal Thomas, Bridget FreisthlerThis article examines the relationship between medical marijuana dispensaries and neighborhood demographics.Los Angeles, CA -
Medical Marijuana Laws and Teen Marijuana Use
American Law and Economics Review, 17(2): 495-528, 2015by: D. Anderson, Benjamin Hansen, Daniel ReesThis article challenges the notion that medical marijuana laws lead to increased marijuana use in teens. -
Medical Marijuana Zoned Out: Local Regulation Meets State Acceptance and Federal Quiet Acquiescence
Journal of Agricultural Law, 16: 295–319, 2011by: Patricia Salkin, Zachary KanslerThis article discusses common local regulatory approaches for medical-marijuana-related uses. -
Medical Marijuana Laws and Adolescent Marijuana Use in the USA from 1991 to 2014: Results from Annual, Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveys
The Lancet Psychiatry, 2(7): 601-608, 2015by: Deborah Hasin, Melanie Wall, Katherine KeyesThis article challenges the notion that medical marijuana laws lead to increased marijuana use in teens. -
The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Crime: Evidence from State Panel Data, 1990-2006
PLOS ONE, 9(3): e92816, 2014by: Robert Morris, Michael TenEyck, James BarnesThis article challenges the notion that legalizing medical marijuana leads to increased incidences of violent or property crime. -
Marijuana Liberalizations Policies: Why We Can’t Learn Much from Policy Still in Motion
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(1): 212–221, 2014by: Rosalie Pac, Eric SevignyThis article reviews the research to date about the societal impacts of legalizing medical or recreational marijuana. -
Exploring the Ecological Association between Crime and Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs, 73(4): 523–530, 2012by: Nancy Kepple, Bridget FreisthlerThis article challenges the notion that the density of medical marijuana dispensaries in an area is positively correlated with property or violent crime rates.Sacramento, CA -
Do Medical Marijuana Centers Behave Like Locally Undesirable Land Uses? Implications for the Geography Of Health And Environmental Justice
Urban Geography, 35(3): 315–336, 2014by: Lyndsay Boggess, Deanna Perez, Kathryn CopeThis article challenges the notion that medical marijuana dispensaries are more likely to be located in poor neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color than in affluent and non-Hispanic white neighborhoods.Denver, CO -
“Zoning” in on Maryland’s Nascent Marijuana Industry
University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development, 5: 167–175, 2016by: Matthew McComasThis article examines how medical-marijuana-related uses are currently regulated in Maryland and recommends more permissive zoning for these uses. -
Local Government Regulation of Marijuana in Oregon
2016This guide provides extensive information about local regulatory options for marijuana-related uses in Oregon.Oregon -
Marijuana Regulation in Washington State
2017This webpage provides an overview of local regulatory options for marijuana-related uses in Washington.Washington -
Local Governments and Marijuana Regulation: A Resource Guide for the City of Kodiak, Alaska
2016by: Holly Wells, Katie Davies, Jason BrandeisThis guide provides extensive information about local regulatory options for marijuana-related uses in Alaska.Alaska -
A Resource Guide to Designing Transfer of Development Rights Programs in Washington State
2009This guide provides information to municipalities in Washington to help them design and implement transfer of development rights programs.Washington -
The Macro View on Micro Units
2014This report evaluates the market for micro-apartments and offers guidance for micro-apartment developers. -
Tiny Homes: Coming to a Neighborhood Near You?
MRSC Insight Blog, December 30, 2015by: Stephen Butler, FAICPThis blog post provides a concise overview of the potential state and local regulatory barriers to siting and occupying tiny houses in Washington.Washington -
Do Tiny Houses Fit in Your Community?
Western Planner, February 22, 2017by: Jayna Watson, AICPThis article highlights the growing interest in tiny houses and explains how local zoning and building codes affect tiny house neighborhoods. -
Saving the American Dream: The Legalization of the Tiny House Movement
University of Louisville Law Review, 54: 354-379, 2016by: Katherine VailThis article discusses the increasing interest in tiny houses and proposes local regulatory reforms to make space for tiny houses as permanent residences. -
The Promises and Pitfalls of Micro-Housing
Zoning and Planning Law Report, November 2012by: Tim IglesiasThis article defines micro-housing, summarizes policy considerations, and highlights regulatory issues. -
New York Transfer of Development Rights Statute (Villages)
Village Law §7-701, 2016New York’s transfer of development rights statute for villages authorizes villages to establish transfer of development rights programs.New York -
Oregon Transferable Development Credits Statute
Oregon Revised Statutes, §§94-531-538, 2016Oregon’s transfer of development rights statute authorizes the governing body of a city or county to recognize a severable development interest in real property and establish a transferable development credit system for the purchase and sale of these rights.Oregon -
New York Transfer of Development Rights Statute (Towns)
Town Law §261-a, 2016New York’s transfer of development rights statute for towns authorizes towns to establish transfer of development rights (TDR) programs.New York -
North Carolina Dedication of Right-of-Way with Density or Development Rights Transfer Statute
General Statutes §§ 136-66.10-11, 2014North Carolina’s transfer of development rights(TDR) statute authorizes cities and counties to establish TDR programs to compensate owners for development rights associated with right-of-way dedications.North Carolina -
New York Transfer of Development Rights Statute (Cities)
General City Law §20-f, 2016New York’s transfer of development rights statute for cities authorizes cities to establish transfer of development rights programs.New York -
Appraisal Guidelines for Determining Development Potential
1999by: New Jersey State Transfer of Development Rights BankThis guide describes methodology used for transfer of development rights (TDR) valuation by New Jersey’s state TDR bank.New Jersey -
Guidebook for Creating a Municipal TDR program
1995This guide provides information to municipalities in Montgomery County, Maryland, to help them design and implement transfer of development rights programs.Montgomery County, PA -
Transfer of Development Rights Model and Commentary
2018by: Planning for Hazards Land Use Solutions for ColoradoThis model provides recommended language and commentary useful for any municipality drafting a transfer of development rights ordinance.Colorado -
Model Transfer of Development Rights Ordinance for Virginia Localities
2010by: Farmland Information CenterThis model ordinance serves as a useful tool for municipalities interested in drafting transfer of development rights regulations. The document covers the numerous aspects of a TDR program, and includes a model transfer of development rights deed of severance, deed of transfer, deed of severance and transfer, and quitclaim deed.Virginia -
Pierce County, WA, Pierce County Code
2018by:The county’s code authorizes transfer of development rights to conserve forestry, agriculture, rural areas, recreational trails, open space, and habitat areas.Pierce County, WA -
Smart Preservation
2018by: Richard Pruetz, FAICPThis website is dedicated to documenting nationwide preservation efforts that are accomplished through transfer of development rights programs. -
Letting the Market Preserve Land: The Case for a Market-Driven Transfer of Development Rights Programs
Contemporary Economic Policy, 17: 256-267, 1999.by: Gerald Simons, Paul ThornesThis article investigates farmland and open space preservation alternatives to conventional zoning-based TDR and outlines the structure of and benefits to implementing a marketable development rights program. -
Putting Growth in Its Place with Transfer of Development Rights
Planning Commissioners Journal, Summer 1998by: Richard Pruetz, FAICPThis article provides an overview of transfer of development rights. The author is an experienced planning consultant specializing in transfer of development rights. -
Transfer of Development Rights Model Bylaw
Smart Growth/Smart Energy Toolkit, 2007This model bylaw provides two templates to help municipalities in Massachusetts adopt regulations for transfer of development rights.Massachusetts -
Plantation, FL, Code of Ordinances
2015The city's zoning code permits accessory solar energy systems and includes use-specific standards for multiple types of medical-marijuana-related uses.Plantation, FL -
The Importance of Bringing Your Sign Code Up-to-Date
MRSC Insight Blog, October 29, 2015by: Stephen Butler, FAICPThis blog post summarizes the key findings from U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, explains what sign regulation options are still available to cities and counties, and offers some recommendations for local sign code reform. -
Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Arizona
SCOTUSblog, 2015This web page provides links to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert along with the lower court’s opinion, the arguments in the case, proceedings and orders, and blog posts with court coverage.Gilbert, AZ -
RMLUI Legal Corner: Reed v. Town of Gilbert: Assessing the Impact One Year Later
Western Planner, July/August 2016by: Brian ConnollyThis short article reviews the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert and highlights some noteworthy, subsequent lower court decisions that may add clarity for local sign code drafters and administrators.