Conservation Clinic
Project Spotlight
2008 Conservation Clinic Briefs
The UF Law Conservation Clinic continues to maintain an active portfolio of environmental and land use law and policy products, many of which yielded tangible results over the course of the academic year. Additional clinic resources can be found at http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/resources/resources.shtml
UF Law/IFAS Extension Collaboration in Land Use and Sustainability. Under the guidance of the Clinic’s Assistant in Environmental Law, Thomas Ruppert, Jonathan Semach (3L) developed a set of model “green” deed restrictions for use by the UF IFAS Program for Resource Efficient Communities and by developers of new communities in Florida. Some of these provisions have already been used by a Florida developer of affordable housing and homeowners associations. The Clinic has begun a new project with IFAS working with Sarasota County on local government implement of Low Impact Development stormwater practices. Ruppert will direct this effort as well.
Clinic Products: http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/projects/sustainability.shtmlCarbon Trading and the Built Environment. The built environment results in a significant percentage of the United States’ carbon emissions and hence a “low hanging fruit” in the national effort to reduce green house gas emissions. Christine Manning (3L) worked with PhD student Hal Knowles to develop a model contract for the transfer of carbon credits due to efficiencies gained that exceed current building code standards. The project, commissioned by the International Carbon Bank & Exchange brokered the first green building carbon credits in Florida. In related work, Clinic Director Tom Ankersen served on the Florida Green Building Commission’s statewide task force to develop a model green building ordinance. The Commission adopted the task force model, which was based on the ordinance drafted by the Conservation Clinic for the City of Gainesville in 2005.
Clinic Products: http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/projects/sustainability.shtmlCoastal Development and Armoring Policy Analysis. The Clinic developed a year-long project to critically examine Florida’s coastal development permitting program as well as policies to address development in the face of rising sea levels. The research yielded serious flaws in the permitting program that are contributing to the chronic loss of natural sand beaches in Florida and found that few communities are taking seriously the policy implications of sea level rise. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation and sea turtle advocates will use the results to press for policy reform. Results will also be published in the National Sea Grant Law Journal and the Widener Law Review. Ryan Feinberg (3L), Yee Huang (3L) and Michael McConnell (3L) all contributed to the project directed by Thomas Ruppert.
Clinic Products: http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/projects/coastal.shtmlSustainability Pedagogy in Higher Education. Clinic Director Tom Ankersen used his appointment as the UF Provost Faculty Fellow in Sustainability to assist with the development of a new undergraduate minor in sustainability at UF. The minor emphasizes sustainability service learning and will begin in fall 2008. Melissa Hochmuth (3L) worked with law school-bound undergraduate leaders to assess UF’s sustainability and service learning curriculum. The Clinic also worked with the IFAS Cooperative Extension Service to create two service learning internships in land use and sustainability and place students in county extension offices and continues to support the efforts of the UF Office of Sustainability to create a policy framework for campus climate neutrality.
Clinic Products: http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/pdf/fostering_curriculum_dev.pdfConservation Burial Ground. Building on work done in 2003 that led to the establishment of Florida’s first ecocemetery, the Glendale Nature Preserve in Walton County, Lisa Louer (3L) worked with the Alachua Conservation Trust to develop a conservation burial ground in Alachua County.
Federal Water Resources Development Act Reform. Under the guidance of CGR Associate in Law, Richard Hamann, Kim Koleos (3L) worked with Senator Bob Graham and the new Graham Center for Public Service in the development of a new federal statute that would separate water resource restoration projects from water resource development projects and create objective criteria on which to base funding decisions. Koleos presented her draft legislation and accompanying white paper at the annual meeting of the Everglades Coalition where Graham announced the initiative in his keynote address.Florida Recreational Boating Law Reform. New legislation requires local governments to development “water use policies” but provides no guidance, and local governments are constrained by federal and state preemptions. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission commissioned the Clinic to undertake a comprehensive review of Florida’s boating and provide recommendations. To assist the analysis, Melanie King (3L) completed a detailed legislative history of Chapter 327 and constructed a searchable database by adapting case management software ordinarily used for litigation timelines. King presented her work at several interagency and stakeholder meetings.
Clinic Products: http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/waterways/waterways/index.htmWaterfronts Florida Comprehensive Plan Compliance Review. The Florida Department of Community Affairs commissioned the Clinic to conduct a thorough review of waterfronts Florida Program communities’ comprehensive plans to determine the extent to which their plans and accompanying land development regulations comply with new state legislation addressing public water access. Clinic Land Use Law Fellow and recent graduate Adrienne Dessy is directing the project with assistance from Lisa Louer (3L) and Kelly McDermott (3L). In a related project, McDermott worked with the City of Punta Gorda and Florida Sea Grant to draft public water access policies for that community.
Clinic Products: http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/waterways/waterfronts/index.htmConservation Easements for Springshed Protection. Following a chance encounter with a landowner during a clinic field trip paddling one of Florida’s last wild spring runs, the Clinic was engaged to develop an innovative conservation easement to protect the Springhead. Tristan Harper (2L) and John November (2L) worked with the landowner and Alachua Conservation Trust to draft an easement based upon a conservation zoning scheme for the springshed. The ACT Board accepted the easement and directed its staff to commence negotiations with the landowner.
Living Shorelines. Eroding shorelines on Florida’s low energy gulf coast have prompted riparian land owners to seek to “harden” the shoreline with seawalls and other armoring to protect their property. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun promoting an environmental beneficial option to hardening that involves installing porous breakwaters to absorb wave energy and native vegetation to re-create a marshy shoreline. Although environmentally beneficial, this form of shoreline protection involves the same sort of permitting requirements as detrimental hardening options. Kathryn Isaacs (2L) has been researching the regulatory framework for permitting living shorelines and seeking ways to streamline the process or otherwise incentivize living shorelines in order to make living shorelines the preferred option for coastal property protection.
Colliding Worlds: Land Use in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a country in development transition that is facing many of the growth and development problems Florida has confronted. The Conservation Clinic partners with the University of Costa Rica’s environmental law clinic through the UF/UCR Joint Program in Environmental Law. In the Summer of 2007 U.S. & Costa Rica students explored the application of U.S. style land use tools such as transferable development rights, density bonuses and comprehensive planning to Costa Rica. The municipality of Santa Ana in Costa Rica’s metropolitan central valley. This work will continue with the 2008 Costa Rica Program. Clinic Products: http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/international/international.shtml