This CLE program examines three recent, closely related court decisions addressing developer challenges to municipal height restrictions. Each case arose from applications seeking relief from established zoning limits and subsequent lawsuits brought by community groups attempting to preserve existing height controls.

Through a detailed analysis of these matters, the course explores the urban planning principles, zoning frameworks, and policy considerations that shaped the disputes, as well as the procedural and substantive hurdles involved in contesting city land-use determinations. Particular attention is given to standards of review, deference to local government decision-making, and the role of administrative records in land-use litigation.

Although the trial courts ruled in favor of the community groups in each case, the appellate courts reversed those decisions and upheld the developers’ positions. The program uses these outcomes to illustrate evolving judicial approaches to development approvals and to provide practical guidance for attorneys representing developers, municipalities, and community organizations in zoning and land-use disputes.