Overcoming Legal Hurdles to Changing the Use of Obsolete Municipal Real Estate Facilities: A Case Study
Over time, municipal facilities may become obsolete. Municipalities often face legal obstacles to implementing new uses for those facilities. A municipal lawyer must find legal routes to help clients enact innovative proposals that transform a facility’s use. Where real estate assets are involved, the lawyer often must find ways to accommodate or remove existing land-use restrictions. This seminar will discuss common land-use restrictions that impede changing the use of municipal real estate and then, as a case study, examine a City of Philadelphia project that transformed an abandoned reservoir into an environmental center and park. The project required compliance with land-use restrictions imposed under the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, a major grant program that affects municipal parks and recreation facilities around the nation.
Speaker: Lawrence Copeland