Preemption Puzzles: Firearms, Fracking, Foreigners, Fuels, and Farming

Friday, February 8, 2013
Hilton UF Conference Center
Gainesville, Florida

Click here to register for the conference.

Click here to download the symposium brochure.

7 General CLE credits and certification credits in City, County and Local Government Law (3), Criminal Appellate Law (1), Criminal Trial Law (1), Immigration and Nationality Law (1.5). and State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice (7) Presented by the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Co-sponsored by The Florida Bar City, County, and Local Government Law; Environmental and Land Use Law.

Preemption — the subject of the Twelfth Annual Richard E. Nelson Symposium — is a matter of concern to lawyers in the public and private sectors and to government officials at all levels. We have assembled an outstanding group of national and state experts to examine the serious puzzles posed by federal and state preemption of local regulatory activity in five provocative areas: firearms, hydrofracking, immigration, renewable energy, and agriculture.  Clear guidance from state and federal courts is rare in this area, which means that lawyers struggle with locating the legally defensible “comfort zone” for state and local statutes, ordinances, permitting, and regulation.

Speakers:

John R. Nolon, Professor of Law, Pace University School of Law
Michael O’Shea, Professor of Law, Oklahoma City University School of Law
Rick Su, Associate Professor, SUNY Buffalo Law School
Hannah Wiseman, Assistant Professor, Florida State University College of Law
Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

Respondents:

Dave Mica, Executive Director, Florida Petroleum Institute
Amy T. Petrick, Senior Assistant County Attorney, Palm Beach County
Robert N. Hartsell, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Law student presenters:

Samantha Culp and Eric Fisher

Accommodations

For your convenience, a block of rooms has been reserved at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center for Thursday and Friday nights, Feb. 7 and 8. Call 352-371-3600 and mention the University of Florida Nelson Symposium (group code RNS) to receive the special rate of $130 per night. Your reservations must be made by Jan. 25, 2013, to guarantee a room at the special rate. The Hilton University of Florida Conference Center is located at 1714 SW 34th St. in Gainesville, Fla.

Register

Conference registration is $100 and includes all program activities (including reception, continental breakfast, breaks, lunch). Fill out and mail the form below with your check by Feb. 5, 2013, to the address shown below. Make checks payable to the UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA. For online registration and payment, please go to http://conferences.dce.ufl.edu/SSP/section.aspx?s=1400037630.

Questions

Contact College Flage, public functions coordinator, at 352-273- 0615 or flage@law.ufl.edu.

Special Needs

If your attendance requires any aids or services as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, please notify us at least two weeks prior to the program date.

“Digging Up Some Dirt (Law)” will take place Friday, Feb. 10 at the UF Hilton Conference Center in Gainesville from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The symposium is co-sponsored by the Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Law Section and by The Florida Bar City, County and Local Government Section.

Just in the past decade, there have been profound changes in real property law in America and it is important to understand the positive and negative impact of these changes. Among the topics to be explored will be recent legislative efforts to make it more difficult for trespassers to acquire land through adverse possession and for public entities to acquire title by eminent domain. Experts will also examine growing concerns regarding the use and abuse of conservation easements and the securitization of traditional and alternative mortgages.

“While some skeptics might think that concepts such as adverse possession and easements are relics of the past, the reality is that they have a real impact on people and places in the 21st century,” said Michael Allan Wolf, who is the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law at UF Law.

The symposium is named in honor of Richard E. Nelson, who served with distinction as Sarasota County attorney for 30 years, and his wife, Jane Nelson, two UF alumni who gave more than $1 million to establish the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, which is responsible for the annual event. Their support of the Levin College of Law’s Environmental and Land Use Program has been key to the program’s success and national recognition for excellence.

Registration and a $100 fee are required for the event. Students may attend free of cost, but registration is still required. The online registration form can be found at http://conferences.dce.ufl.edu/SSP/section.aspx?s=1400034964. The Nelson Symposium offers seven general CLE credits and seven certification credits in City, County, Local Government; State/Federal Government Administrative Practice; and Real Estate.

For more information, download the Nelson Symposium brochure at http://www.law.ufl.edu/news/pdf/NelsonSymposium2012.pdf.

For additional information:
Matt Walker, UF Law Communications
352-273-0653 or mlwalker@law.ufl.edu

“Digging Up Some Dirt (Law): How Recent Developments in Real Property Law Affect Landowners and Local Governments” will welcome national and state experts to explore the impact on landowners and local governments of recent and proposed changes in the law of adverse possession, eminent domain, easements and mortgages.

7 General CLE credits and 7 certification credits in City, County, Local Government; State/Federal Government Administrative Practice; Real Estate

For registration information, click here. Download the Nelson Symposium brochure here.

The symposium – “Going Coastal: 21st Century Challenges to Our Fragile Coast” – will take place Friday, Feb. 11, at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Law Section and by The Florida Bar City, County and Local Government Section.

Presentations will focus on sea rise mitigation, oil spill litigation, drilling moratoria, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, ocean acidification and judicial takings. The program will be of special interest to those in the legal field dealing with land use, environmental, energy and state and local government issues.

“The line-up for the tenth Nelson Symposium is impressive in its depth and breadth, which is appropriate, as the legal problems involved in protecting our coast demand the creativity and energy of the best and brightest of our profession,” said Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law Michael Allan Wolf of the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

This year’s speakers include Georgetown Law Professor Peter Byrne; Sarah Chasis, Natural Resources Defense Council; University of Miami Law Professor Cynthia Drew; Florida Solicitor General Scott Makar; Alida C. Hainkel, Jones Walker, New Orleans; University of Washington Law Professor William Rodgers; Stanford Law Professor Buzz Thompson; University of Florida Levin College of Law Professor Michael Allan Wolf; and two University of Florida law students, Tony Bajoczky and Celia Thacker.

The symposium is named to honor Richard E. Nelson, who served with distinction as Sarasota County attorney for 30 years, and his wife, Jane Nelson, two UF alumni who gave more than $1 million to establish the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, which is responsible for the annual event. Their support of the Levin College of Law’s Environmental and Land Use Program has been key to the program’s success and national recognition for excellence.

Registration is required to attend the event. Registration forms and further information can be found at http://www.law.ufl.edu/news/events/2011/nelson/.

Members of the media are invited to attend, but space is limited so please contact Matt Walker at mlwalker@law.ufl.edu or 352-273-0650 at the UF Law Communications Office to make arrangements.

Presented by the UF Levin College of Law and co-sponsored by The Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Law Section and The Florida Bar City, County and Local Government Section, this one-day conference titled, “The Squeeze on Local Governments,” will explore pressing questions affecting local governments and identify solutions to help leverage governmental resources. Attendees can earn six general Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits, and will interact with leading state and national experts in local government, the environment, property, land-use, and redevelopment law.

“These are perilous times for local government officials who find themselves on the front lines of the struggle to contend with the financial and housing meltdown and other serious challenges,” said Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, UF Levin College of Law, and organizer of the symposium. “Pressured by court decisions, diminishing property tax revenues, and new legislation that threatens their existing regulatory tools, attorneys representing and working closely with cities and towns need to be well-informed regarding new problems and new government assistance programs.”

Symposium topics slated for discussion include, “State and Local Responses to the Housing/Financial Crisis,” the “Neighborhood Stabilization program,” “Experiences with State Regulatory Takings,” and “Post-Kelo Eminent Domain Reforms.” “Our nation’s economic crisis is taking its toll on state and local governments,” said Deborah Cupples, a board member of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association. “To deal with these issues effectively requires attorneys specializing in local government, real estate, land-use planning and environmental law to keep up with the evolving challenges and proposed solutions. Attending the Nelson Symposium is a great way to plug into resources and get advice from the experts.” Presenters include Frank S. Alexander, professor of law, Emory Law School; John D. Echeverria, executive director, Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute, and professor of law, Vermont Law School; James W. Ely, Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise, Vanderbilt University Law School; Robert Guthrie, esq., senior assistant county attorney, Orange County, Fla.; D. Kent Safriet, esq., Hopping Green & Sams, Tallahassee, Fla.; Gregory T. Stewart, esq., Nabors Giblin & Nickerson, Tallahassee, Fla; and Andrea Becker and Tara Nelson, J.D. candidates, University of Florida Levin College of Law.

The deadline for symposium registration is Feb. 6. Conference registration is $50 and includes CLEs, all program activities, reception, continental breakfast, breaks and lunch. Visit www.law.ufl.edu/news/events/ to view the symposium brochure, which includes registration and accommodation information.

Presented by the University of Florida Levin College of Law and co-sponsored by The Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Law Section and The Florida Bar City County and Local Government Section, this year’s conference is entitled “Green Building: Prospects and Pitfalls for Local Governments.” The event will draw experts from law and related fields to discuss topics such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and other certification programs, state and local climate change initiatives, private environmental lawmaking, building industry and local government programs, and national trends.

The state of Florida is positioning itself to be in the forefront of governmental efforts to incorporate design and construction practices that will yield energy efficiency, enable the conservation of resources, and protect the environment. Some local governments and universities have also been experimenting with their own green building programs. This rapidly changing field presents challenges and potential problems for local government counsel, as well as attorneys who specialize in real estate, land use, environmental and construction law.

“There are certainly a lot of positives to green building practices,” says UF Law Professor Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law. “Local governments can promote themselves as being green. They might provide incentives for people to build green-certified buildings and create a green corridor or green district, and that can sort of promote the city, because there are a lot of people when they are choosing where to live or where to shop who are cognizant of these issues.

“But ultimately there might be some strings attached that might prove troublesome for local governments. There might be some extra regulatory hoops that they have to jump through, additional costs that the state could pass on to them, or legal challenges that could arise from these green building incentives and requirements.”

UF has been one of the leaders in the state in the green movement. UF’s Rinker Hall became Florida’s first LEED Gold-Certified building in 2004, and last year Library West became the second building at UF to attain gold status. Other UF buildings are now certified by LEED and several more are being renovated to meet these standards.

Scheduled presenters include Douglas Buck, director of governmental affairs, Florida Home Builders Association; Kristen H. Engel, professor of law, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law; Douglas E. Meyers, III, a lawyer at Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, Jacksonville, Florida; Charles J. Kibert, professor, University of Florida M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction; Errol E. Meidinger, vice dean for research and professor, University at Buffalo Law School, State University of New York; Joshua Yaffin, energy coordinator, Florida Department of Management Services; Jeffry S. Wade, director, Environmental Division, Center for Governmental Responsibility, UF Levin College of Law; and Jariel Bortnick, J.D. candidate, UF Levin College of Law.

This is the seventh symposium honoring Richard E. Nelson–who served with distinction as Sarasota County attorney for 30 years–and Jane Nelson, two UF alumni who gave more than $1 million to establish the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, which sponsors the annual event. Their support of the Levin College of Law’s Environmental and Land Use Program has been key to the program’s success and national recognition for excellence.

GAINESVILLE, Fla.— The Sixth Annual Richard E. Nelson Symposium, to be held Friday, Feb. 2, at the University of Florida Hilton Conference Center, will assemble an unprecedented panel of experts to discuss the legal aspects of a growing real estate development phenomenon in Florida and throughout the nation—the conversion of existing golf courses into more intensive land uses.

In many communities that are experiencing intense growth pressures and that contain a shrinking inventory of developable parcels, golf courses are being targeted for residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects. Local government officials often find themselves in the middle of heated battles between neighboring residents, golfers, builders, and environmental and conservation groups.

“It’s a national phenomenon,” said the symposium’s organizer, UF Law Professor Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law at the Levin College of Law. “It raises some very fascinating questions about the role of local government, neighborhood organizations, and the limits of zoning and planning.”

In some areas, such as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Wolf explained, the perception is that developers built too many golf courses, and they are being converted to other uses. In high growth areas such as South Florida, golf courses are looked at as prime, undeveloped parcels by real estate developers. “Private golf course owners often are finding it tough to stay in the golf business, and so they’re willing to sell out to developers.”

Symposium presenters will survey national trends in golf course conversions; review the pertinent case law; explain the perspectives of, and special challenges facing, attorneys representing developers, neighbors, and local governments; debate the legitimacy of the use of eminent domain to take a golf course; explore relevant conservation easement and covenant law concepts; discuss environmental aspects of golf course operations and conversions; and examine special Florida law concerns and the potential for linking conversions to the provision of affordable housing, open space, and other public benefits.

More often than not, Wolf said, golf courses are being converted into residential properties. “You have different groups that are potentially opposed to this,” he said. “Often you have neighbors and neighborhood organizations that are unhappy that there’s going to be increased congestion, and loss of the golf course if they happen to belong to it.”

The conversions can create headaches for local government officials who have to make zoning decisions and are caught between residents who want to keep the golf course on the one side and developers who want to build homes on the other. Environmentalists could go either way on an issue like this, Wolf said. While they are often opponents of golf courses because of the practices that they perceive to be bad for the environment, the prospect of bringing in thousands of new residents to an area who are going to be watering and fertilizing their lawns, and increasing traffic doesn’t make them happy either.

To facilitate discussion, Wolf has brought in attorneys who have represented all the competing forces in this issue—neighbors, developers, and local governments. In addition, the symposium will include local and national experts on zoning to discuss planning considerations. A consultant from the National Golf Foundation will discuss conversions taking place throughout the country, and a national director with the United States Golf Association will discuss its program to develop courses in an environmentally friendly way.

Several law professors also will participate, including Eric R. Claeys, assistant professor of law at the Saint Louis University School of Law, who will debate Wolf on the use of eminent domain by a locality to take a golf course. Nancy A. McLaughlin, professor of law at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, will discuss the use of conservation easements, and UF Law student Steven Wernick will discuss some of the court cases related to golf course conversions.

The event is not open to the public, but is free to members of the media who wish to attend. This is the sixth symposium honoring Richard E. Nelson–who served with distinction as Sarasota County attorney for 30 years–and Jane Nelson, two loyal UF alumni who gave more than $1 million to establish the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, which sponsors the annual event.

Some of the toughest questions in First Amendment law are no farther away than your local stretch of interstate highway, says University of Florida law professor Michael Allan Wolf.

“From ads for adult entertainment to messages put up by white supremacist groups, Florida billboards have been the subject of some controversial disputes,” said Wolf, who holds the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law at UF’s Levin College of Law. “Just take a drive up and down Interstate 75 and you can find all sorts of interesting First Amendment questions.”

Wolf plans to bring together leaders in the outdoor advertising industry and prominent billboard opponents on Feb. 11 to address the scenic benefits and constitutional pitfalls of laws regulating roadside signs. The event, held at the University of Florida Hilton Hotel and Conference Center, will be the fourth installment in the law school’s Richard E. Nelson Symposium series.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Highway Beautification Act, a federal law intended to curb the spread of billboards along interstate highways – but regulation of billboards is still a topic of heated debate between advertisers and government officials.

In Florida alone, recent ads for strip clubs and billboards put up by white supremacist groups have created controversy for several local governments. There is a campaign to amend the state constitution to restrict billboard advertising. And the record hurricane season of 2004 has left local governments and outdoor advertisers at odds over the rebuilding of signs destroyed in the storms.

“Many of the destroyed signs were old billboards that were ‘grandfathered in’ when current regulations were passed,” Wolf said. “These are billboards that couldn’t be built under the rules we have in place today. But the owners of those signs are anxious to repair and rebuild without new regulations.”

There is also some concern over the growing role of media conglomerates in outdoor advertising, Wolf said.

“A large share of the billboards now in existence are owned by a few large media companies such as ClearChannel or Viacom,” said Wolf. “Some critics have argued that this consolidation violates anti-trust laws.”

The Nelson Symposium features speakers from all sides of the billboard-regulation debate, including:

• Jacksonville attorney William Brinton, who has represented local governments in a number of cases against outdoor advertisers.
• Nancy Fletcher, president and CEO of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America
• Harvard University law professor Charles M. Haar, who will deliver an address titled “The Highway Beautification Act: Looking Back After 40 Years.”
• Chicago-Kent College of Law professor Christopher Leslie, who will speak on antitrust issues in the outdoor advertising industry.
• Michael Hoefges, an assistant professor of journalism and mass communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who will speak on billboards and commercial speech.
• Randall Thornton, county attorney for Sumter County, recently the location of some highly controversial outdoor ads.
• Miami attorney Tom Julin, who specializes in First Amendment cases.
• South Carolina attorney Marguerite Williams, who has represented outdoor advertising companies in anti-trust cases.

The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Hilton, and lasts until 4:30 p.m. with a lunch break. Media coverage is invited. Journalists interested in attending the conference should contact Barbara DeVoe, director of conference planning at the Levin College of Law, at 352-392-8070.

The Nelson Symposium is held in honor of Richard E. Nelson, who served as county attorney for Sarasota County for 30 years. Nelson and his wife, Jane, donated $1 million to the law school to establish the Nelson Chair in Local Government Law. The Nelsons’ support of the Environmental and Land Use Law Program has played a key role in its recent recognition as one of the top 20 such programs in the country.

More info at http://www.law.ufl.edu/calendars/
Michael Allan Wolf; 352-392-3056; WolfM@law.ufl.edu

“From Penn Central to Pensacola: New Perspectives on Historic Preservation” will be the main focus of the Third Richard E. Nelson Symposium scheduled Friday by the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

National legal experts will join UF law school officials to discuss such topics as economic benefits of historic preservation, its church and state implications, tax and ethical considerations and regulatory taking questions.

The session – co-sponsored by the Florida Bar sections of Environmental and Land Use Law and City/County/Local Government Law – will be held from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Paramount Gateway Resort and Conference Center in Gainesville.

Major participants, both professors of law, will be Robert W. Tuttle of George Washington University and David A. Brennen of Mercer University. Also participating and coordinating the event is the UF law school’s Professor Michael Allan Wolf, Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law.

A report on the “Economic Impacts of Historic Preservation in Florida” will be presented by Timothy McLendon, staff attorney for the Levin College of Law’s Center for Governmental Responsibility. McLendon is author of a handbook on Florida historic preservation law, and is co-author of the State of Florida-funded research report on which he will base his presentation.

Information on symposium details: Barbara DeVoe, Director of Conference Planning (352.392.8070 or eMail: devoe@law.ufl.edu) Professor Michael Alan Wolf (352.392.3056 or eMail: wolfM@law.ufl.edu)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Growth management experts from around the nation will meet with legal practitioners at a September symposium to discuss important land use and growth issues in Florida and the United States.

The University of Florida Levin College of Law second Richard E. Nelson Symposium will take place here September 27, at the UF Hotel & Conference Center. The one-day event, entitled “Smart Growth and Beyond: Lessons for Florida,” begins with an 8:30 a.m. welcome by law school Dean Jon Mills.

Topics will include approaches to smart growth in Canada, Maryland and Georgia; American anti-terrorist planning and design strategies; land use and race; and European growth experiences.

Featured speakers will be John DeGrove, former Secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs and now eminent scholar emeritus at Florida Atlantic University; Professor Richard H. Schneider, UF Department of Urban and Regional Planning; Mary Jane Angelo, Senior Assistant General Counsel, St. Johns River Water Management District; and Professor Sheryll Cashin, Georgetown University Law Center.

Seven and one-half hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits have been approved by the Florida Bar for the event, made possible by an endowment to the Levin College of Law from Richard and Jane Nelson of Sarasota.

Richard E. Nelson, symposium honoree, served as Sarasota County Attorney for 30 years. He is past president of the Florida Association of County Attorneys, former chairman of the Local Government Law section of the Florida Bar, and received multiple awards and recognition for contributions to local government law.

Registration and conference information is available by contacting Barbara DeVoe, director of conference planning for the law school, at 352.392.8070 or at devoe@law.ufl.edu. The registration deadline is September 13.