Planning and Environmental Law
Gain a comprehensive understanding of planning and environmental law, policy and institutions at the federal, state and local levels. Learn to read and understand a judicial opinion, work with lawyers and develop an integrated land use/environmental permitting strategy.
Students will receive both the knowledge and practical skills to successfully navigate the legal framework in their chosen planning and environmental careers. The course first reviews the various sources of planning and environmental law, including common law, statutes and regulations, the public trust doctrine and judicial case law. It then provides students with a working understanding of:
- Land use law requirements, including statutory and case law requirements for the General Plan, zoning and subdivisions
- Constraints on land use regulation, including vested rights, takings and other constitutional constraints
- The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Requirements of selected environmental/natural resource programs, including water quality, wetlands regulation, air quality, and fish and wildlife regulation
- The latest developments in climate change law and policy and how they affect planning
- Effective land use and environmental permitting
Approximately 20 hours of project work and regular attendance are required.
Association Credits
Section Notes
This is an online, remote learning course, which consists of content and curriculum that is taught with pre-recorded and real time lectures, in addition to real-time lecture/Q&A sessions with the instructors. Pre-recorded lectures and live sessions are accessed via our Canvas learning system and Zoom.
This course is open February 14 – March 21, with live sessions on February 17 9:00-11:30AM PT, February 23 1:00-3:30PM PT, March 3 9:00-11:30AM PT, March 9 1:00-3:30PM PT and March 17 9:00-11:30AM PT.
Attendance of the live sessions is mandatory to receive credit for this course.
We allow registration through the 12:00 PM PST (noon) on the first day of the course. We cannot extend course access beyond 11:59 PM on 3/21, so students pursuing a late enrollment acknowledge that they will have less time to complete the materials. Please contact the course representative with any questions.
Enrollment Policies
Drop requests (withdraw with a refund) will be approved, less a $30 processing fee, if the request is received seven calendar days before the course begins. Click here to view complete enrollment policy information including details on withdrawals and transfers.
Technical Requirements
Discounts
APA
Info Session Discount
AEP
Members can receive 10% discount on the course fee by entering the Coupon Code. If you don’t have your association discount code, contact UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education Student Services at (800) 752-0881.