Here's a brief summary of the articles covered in the newsletter
Recent Publications
We reported on the publication of our our new book called Land Use Law: Zoning in the 21st Century, recently published by Law Journal Press, and authored by Ancel Glink attorneys Brent Denzin, Julie Tappendorf, Adam Simon, David Silverman, Gregory Jones, and Daniel Bolin.
Oh, no! They did it again!
The FCC once more made it easier to locate cellular antennas
The Telecommunication Act reserves to local governments the authority over zoning decisions related to cellular tower and antenna placement and construction. However, several significant restrictions on local authority, contained in subsection 332(c)(7) of the Telecommunications Act, are designed to advance the federal policy of expanding broadband deployment and accessibility to wireless communications. While we have previously written about the substance of this law, the federal government continues to tinker with the appropriate mix of local and national control.
Most recently, section 6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (the "Act") amended the Telecommunications Act to limit local government authority to control the collocation of new facilities on existing towers or structures. This article discusses the impact of this new legislation on local government authority to regulate cellular facilities.
Cases to Know
Bleacher Case Goes to the Illinois Supreme Court
Gurba v. Community HS Dist. No. 115, 2014 IL App (2d) 140098
Village's Ordinance Declaring all Commercial Farming a Nuisance Preempted by State Statute
Village of Fayetteville v. Brown, 2015 IL App (3d) 130445
Legislation - School Zoning Bill
Senator Althoff recently reintroduced legislation, designated SB 0036, that would amend the School Code to clarify that school district property is subject local zoning authority. SB 0036 is similar to SB 2647. The School Code does not expressly subject school district property to local zoning control, but impliedly does so by authorizing school boards to petition local zoning authorities for approval of rezoning, variance and special use requests. This ambiguity has created confusion regarding the extent of municipal zoning authority over school district property. The bill's proposed language is below:
105 ILCS 5/10-22.13a
A school district is subject to and its school board must comply with any valid local government zoning ordinance or resolution that applies where the pertinent part of the school district is located. The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly are declarative of existing law and do not change the substantive operation of this Section.
Upcoming Presentations
March 26, 2015: American Planning Association Illinois Chapter's Spring Conference, Peoria, Illinois Greg Jones will speak on how to comply with the Freedom of Information Act without losing your sanity.
April 19, 2015: American Planning Association National Conference, Seattle Washington David Silverman will participate in a panel discussion on Urban Agriculture and the Law.
May 1, 2015: Government Social Media Conference, Reno Nevada Julie Tappendorf will speak on the topic "Keeping it Legal on Social Media."
May 26, 2015: Northern Illinois University, Civic Leadership Academy
Adam Simon and Dan Bolin will discuss "Sex, Guns, Marijuana & God - Issues that Local Government Tangle with Today" at a special evening workshop in Hoffman Estates.