Burnham’s Blog

New York City has undertaken a number of significant rezoning efforts in recent years. The latest change received City Council approval on August 9, 2017, the rezoning of a section of Midtown Manhattan known as East Midtown.The amendment of the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York is intended to encourage development in a major business center. The inability to construct larger-scale office towers has slowed growth in East Midtown. Rezoning the area to encourage development while accounting for the needs of different stakeholders has been a number of years in the making.

Colorado’s problematic construction defect laws have recently seen some important developments. It has been difficult to strike a balance between protecting the rights of homeowners and the interests of developers and other construction professionals. Stakeholders have been working over the last several years to reform Colorado’s construction defect laws, blamed for reducing the building of much-needed housing in the state. A new statutory amendment and recent court decision may ease some of the pressure felt by the construction industry.

San Francisco recently adopted several new density bonus programs to help ease the city’s affordable housing crisis. Despite San Francisco’s economically diverse population, the city has one of the nation’s highest housing costs. San Francisco has taken various steps over the years to encourage affordable housing projects but much more needs to be done. In this post, we will look at the new San Francisco density bonus programs as well as the important role of the California Density Bonus Law.

The Chicago Plan Commission yesterday approved the North Branch Industrial Corridor Framework Plan and Design Guidelines (Framework). This new plan will radically transform the large industrial area along the Chicago River between Kinzie Street and Fullerton Avenue, creating opportunities for investment and redevelopment. If fully realized, Chicago’s North Branch Industrial Corridor Framework Plan could dramatically impact the City’s economy in addition to reshaping Chicago’s built environment.

Last month, the White House released the Housing Development Toolkit (Toolkit), a guide to promoting affordable housing development. The Toolkit’s recommendations are based on different state and local jurisdiction initiatives to remove barriers to affordable housing. Although the regulation of housing development is normally left to states and municipalities, the White House is hoping the Toolkit will help local governments adopt strategies to encourage an increase in affordable housing.