From the Ground Up

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SCOTUS Provides Pathway to Courts' Challenging Army Corps' Wetlands Calls

May 31, 2016

Environmental, Land Use, Legal Developments—National, From the Ground Up

Access to courts to resolve disputes early on in a permitting process is critical for land use projects in terms of time- and cost-savings. In Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes, issued on May 31, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively agreed by rul...

Portland Commissioner Saltzman Proposes New 1% Construction Excise Tax

May 24, 2016

Construction, Housing, Tax, From the Ground Up

Today Portland Commissioner Dan Saltzman, whose bureau assignments include the Portland Housing Bureau and the Bureau of Development Services, proposed a new excise tax on residential and commercial development equal to one percent of the total...

Taxes, Fees on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) Eased in Portland

May 18, 2016

Housing, Tax, From the Ground Up

At a time when Portland grapples with a shortage in housing, two new regulatory changes may bring many more accessory dwelling units (ADUs)—small apartment units like basements and small backyard houses added to single-family homes—to the city, there...

Landlords, Beware: HUD Warns Against Discriminating Based on Criminal Background

May 13, 2016

Housing, Legal Developments—National, From the Ground Up

Last month, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development issued guidance that all residential landlords, property managers, and brokers should be aware of: While checking a potential renter's criminal background is not off limits whe...

BiOp on the Oregon National Flood Insurance Program: A Case for Levee Accreditation

May 12, 2016

Environmental, Legal Developments—National, From the Ground Up

If there was ever a case to be made for levee accreditation in Oregon, it would be the biological opinion ("BiOp") that the National Marine Fisheries Services ("NMFS") issued in April 2016. The BiOp seeks to protect and conserve certain salmon and st...

Employment Law Issues for the Development Industry

Apr 15, 2016

Legal Developments—National, Legal Developments—Oregon, Regulation, From the Ground Up

Recently, several of my colleagues have written articles on employment law issues, ranging from best hiring practices to Oregon's new minimum-wage laws. Since employment issues are prevalent in all industries, including development, it dawned on me t...