The program will begin with a quick refresher of the legal principles of modern US zoning, followed by an immersion into the practical applications of zoning, with discussion of topics including both inclusionary and exclusionary zoning and Short-Term Rental Units (STRUs). This will include the financial “Go” / “No-Go” decision-making process, all run through the lens of the ever-changing psychology of the ultimate “externality” – the human factor and condition.

Following a robust Socratic style of class discussion and debate, attendees will dive into the practical applications of the American entitlement process by examining real-world projects which pivoted on zoning relief.

The program will culminate in the final session, with a mock-trial-style exercise during which the instructors will reanimate a past real-world Zoning Hearing, turning the original framework and transcript of that public hearing into a capstone learning experience. Attendees will be assigned roles lifted directly from the original zoning hearing, such as developer/applicant, professionals, abutters, public interest groups, city elected officials, stakeholders, YIMBY(s) & NIMBY(s), supporters, and Zoning Board of Appeals members. The Zoning Board of Appeals will be chaired and moderated by your instructors and modeled under a Roberts Rules style of proceedings.

Once the vote is in the instructors will guide the class in an open discussion, a post-mortem to examine “what happened and why.” Will our reenactment resemble the case study – or will it diverge from what happened in the real world?

• Receive an academic and financial overview of the permitting environment — what it was, what it is, and most importantly, where it’s headed, with an overview of modern topics such as inclusionary & exclusionary zoning (prominent examples include California SB9 and Massachusetts’ MBTA Communities Law) and Short-Term Rental Units (STRUs).
• Gain critical, practical, and tactical financial tools (examining the “Go”/ “No-Go” risk-return analysis), plus the “people” strategies needed to navigate the public hearing process, and an overall appreciation for the emotions associated with permitting our built environment.
• Obtain a multi-stakeholder understanding of the zoning process: how disparate party views, community priorities and regulatory processes impact the strategy and feasibility of a given project.
• Gain a new appreciation for success in the zoning process, defined not only from a built project but from the benefits of the project for the community.
• Refine the soft skills needed to advance a project through: (1) empathy for stakeholder interests, (2) diplomacy through dynamic negotiation, and (3) building consensus through a delicate exchange of project features and community goals.
• Sharpen the hard skills needed to navigate the complex adaptive systems associated with permitting such as: technical financial feasibility models, assumptions on weighing risk analysis, project management and setting team goals, and balancing the tradeoffs between costs and time.
• Emerge with a transformed sense of this critical component of real estate development, positioning you to be a better practice and thought leader for your permitting team, for your development company, for your strategic partners, for your community, for your project, and ultimately for the next generation of leaders in our built environment.

• Anyone working or interacting within the built environment, from developers, architects, general contractors, civil engineers, attorneys, municipal / elected or appointed government officials, economic development associations, community & neighborhood associations, and other stakeholders.
• Community and neighborhood leaders interested in zoning refinement or reform.
• A course well suited for YIMBY(s) and NIMBY(s) alike.