Agenda / Content Covered

1. ANALYZE THE LAND SUBDIVISION PROCESS
   9:00 - 10:30, Dean DePiero
   
   1. How City, County and Township Platting Processes Work
   2. When Lot Splits and Industrial Lands Are Exempt
   3. Avoid Prohibited Land Division
   4. Rules Applying to Inspections, Dedications and Vacations
   5. Private or Public Streets? Which Choice and When?
   6. When Can Extraterritoriality Be Invoked
   7. The Powers and Processes of Planning Commissions: City vs. County vs. Regional
   8. When Subdivision Is Not Zoning and Vice Versa
   9. What to Do When the Land Use Regulation Is in the "Gray Area" and Approval Is Denied
   10. Design Subdivision Regulations the Old Fashioned Way
   11. Get Up to Speed on the New Urbanism and Subdivision Regulations
   12. Review New Case Histories Involving Local Subdivisions
2. UNDERSTAND THE DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
   10:45 - 12:00, Anthony R. Vacanti
   
   1. Definition of a Comprehensive Plan
   2. Key Components of a Comprehensive Plan
   3. How Comprehensive Plans for City, County and Township Differ
   4. What Is the Basis for Land Use Control? A Policy, Map, or No Plan At All?
   5. The Importance of Consistency Within the Plan
   6. Procedures for the Adoption and Amendment of the Plan
   7. How the Plan Is Implemented
   8. Tips for Working Within - and Outside - the Plan
3. BE ALERT TO THE LEGAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF ANNEXATION
   1:00 - 1:45, Terrence L. Seeberger
   
   1. Update on Key Issues in Annexation Law
   2. Get It Right the First Time - Understand Filing Requirements
   3. How County Commissioners Impact Annexation Decisions
   4. How to Request a Review by the Courts
   5. Successful and Unsuccessful Challenges to Annexation
   6. What Does Contiguity Mean? How Does it Apply?
   7. How the General Good of the Territory Is Determined
   8. How Mergers, Detachment, Incorporation and Local Government Changes Impact Annexation
   9. What Happens to Pre-Annexation Agreements
   10. What You May Not Know About Joint Economic Developments
   11. Review of Current Annexation Case Law and How it Applies
4. TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT LAND USE LAW
   1:45 - 2:30, Anthony R. Vacanti
   
   1. Who Has the Power to Zone? How Does It Affect You?
   2. The Ins and Outs of Board of Zoning Appeals
   3. Ubiquitous Manufactured Housing: Implications for Your Community
   4. What Quasi-Judicial Decisions Usually Involve
   5. Navigating the Appeal Process
   6. What is Environmentally Driven Zoning Law?
   7. Determine the Impact of Current Land Use Law
5. STAY ON TOP OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
   2:45 - 3:30, John A. Heer
   
   1. Look At the Impact of Environmental Regulations on Land Use
   2. How Endangered Species Fit into Land Use
   3. Why Primary Permit Requirements Are Vital to Successful Development
   4. Strategies for Controlling Wetlands Use and Abuse
   5. Who Does Superfund Liability Extend To?
   6. Reuse of Environmentally Impaired Property: Liability Issues and Impact Reduction
   7. How Hazardous Substances Impact Land Development
6. ETHICS IN LAND USE
   3:30 - 4:30, Dean DePiero
   
   1. Code of Professional Responsibility
   2. Land Use Decisions for the Public Good
   3. Duty to Protect the Environment
   4. Ex Parte Contacts
   5. Conflicts of Interest

DEAN DEPIERO was appointed law director of Aurora on January 1, 2014. As Law Director, Mr. DePiero serves as legal advisor and attorney to the mayor, city council, all administrative departments and commissions and boards. In addition, the law director drafts legislation, renders legal opinions, reviews all city contracts and is the city prosecutor. Mr. DePiero has served of counsel within the Cleveland Law Firm of McDonald Hopkins since 2005, where his focus is in municipal law, government affairs, real estate law and receivership law. He currently serves on the Parma Community Hospital Foundation Board and the Cuyahoga County Public Library Board of Trustees. Mr. DePiero is a member of the Northern Ohio Law Director's Association, Ohio State Bar Association, and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. He graduated from Ashland University, as well as the Cleveland Marshall College of Law.

JOHN A. HEER focuses his practice on all aspects of environmental law, including compliance counseling and litigation matters. Mr. Heer has experience with traditional environmental issues relating to the Clean Water Act; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); Clean Air Act; Toxic Substances Control Act; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA); Brownfields; wetlands; and stormwater. He also has experience throughout North America with sustainability, chemical management and regulation, and extended producer responsibility regulations, including electronic waste recycling and management. Mr. Heer has been a frequent speaker and writer on a variety of environmental and litigation topics. He is a member of the American, Ohio State, Cleveland Metropolitan, and Akron bar associations. Mr. Heer is admitted to practice in all Ohio state courts and before various U.S. District Courts and Courts of Appeals. He earned his B.A. degree from Indiana University and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

TERRENCE L. SEEBERGER is a partner of the firm of Stark & Knoll Co., L.P.A., in Akron, Ohio. His areas of practice include primarily construction, environmental, land use, and other commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Mr. Seeberger has lectured at numerous seminars providing continuing legal education. His construction experience has been on behalf of both contractors and owners, and included multiple significant projects. Mr. Seeberger is presently the president of the Plain Township Zoning Commission and the Stark County Combined General Health District. He is a past president or chairperson of the Downtown Canton Special Improvement District, Stark State College Foundation, Refuge of Hope Ministries, and the Canton Preservation Society. Mr. Seeberger was instrumental in creating the Perry-Navarre Joint Economic Development District and the Navarre-Bethlehem Joint Fire District. He earned his B A. degree from Grinnell College and his J.D. degree from Washington University.

ANTHONY R. VACANTI is an attorney in the law firm of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP. His practice focuses on matters involving real estate, land use, zoning, development, and eminent domain. Mr. Vacanti regularly appears before administrative boards and courts concerning zoning and land use matters and works with clients and governmental entities to ensure compliance with local zoning and development regulations. Additionally, he represents property owners in eminent domain actions and real property tax valuation matters. Mr. Vacanti also represents clients in all aspects of real estate transactions and developments, including the leasing, acquisition and sale of real estate, drafting complex real estate documents, addressing title and other due diligence matters. He is a member of the Ohio State, Akron, Cleveland Metropolitan and American bar associations. Mr. Vacanti earned his B.A. degree from American University and his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University Law School.