July 16 - Land Use

Fair Housing Ordinances and Local Governments

This presentation covers fair housing issues in local governance including different types of grants from HUD and administration of those grants. It will also cover best practices for local fair housing ordinances. Some topics may be added or removed from this presentation.

Speaker: Brian Connolly

Brian J. Connolly is a shareholder in the Land Use, Litigation, and Real Estate practice groups at Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti, P.C. in Denver, Colorado. There, he represents public- and private-sector clients in matters relating to zoning, planning, development entitlements and other complex regulatory issues. Brian’s practice encompasses a broad range of land use matters including zoning compliance, rezonings and other regulatory amendments, planned-unit developments, development agreements, private covenants and restrictions, land use and zoning litigation, initiatives and referenda associated with land use approvals, and real estate transactions. Brian has received national recognition for his work on First Amendment issues associated with local government regulation, including signs and outdoor advertising, and his work on fair housing matters in local planning and zoning, particularly in the area of housing for people with disabilities.

In addition to his work at the firm, Brian is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder, where he teaches Land Use Planning. Prior to practicing law, Brian was an urban planner in the planning department of Westchester County, New York. Brian also worked in planning capacities at the federal and municipal government levels.

Brian writes and speaks on land use law topics nationally and regionally, and is active in professional organizations. Brian has served as the editor or co-author of three books, including Local Government, Land Use, and the First Amendment: Protecting Free Speech and Expression (ABA Publishing 2017) and Group Homes: Strategies for Effective and Defensible Planning and Regulation (ABA Publishing 2014), addressing the planning and local zoning issues associated with group homes for people with disabilities. Brian serves on the advisory board of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute, and is the elected Secretary-Treasurer of the American Planning Association’s Planning and Law Division.