Cracking Land Use Codes

Mon. 2:00-3:30 p.m., Interlocken C

Codes and zoning are traditional tools planners use to promote safe development. In more and more cases, people harmed by foreseeable hazards have successfully sued municipalities, local officials, engineers, and surveyors for poorly planned development. Codes, combined with these legal precedents, may be one way for local officials to resist pressure for dangerous development. However, there is also an emerging realization that building design criteria and codes are often based on historical data that may not fully address the potential for hazard impacts—whether developing to the "100 year flood" standard or considering possible climate change effects. This session will discuss the utility and limitations of current codes and what future codes should look like, with an eye to the legal and political realities of achieving local hazards mitigation today.

Julie Baxter Julie Baxter, Moderator
FEMA

 

Panelist Philip Line, Panelist
URS Corporation

 

John IngargiolaJohn Ingargiola, Panelist
FEMA

 

James SchwabJames Schwab, Panelist
American Planning Association Hazards Planning Research Center

 

Ed ThomasEdward Thomas, Panelist
Michael Baker Jr., Inc.

 

 

NHC