Publications and Speaking

White Smith Cousino is a leader in publishing and speaking on a national level in order to advance the profession. 

Murr v. Wisconsin is a landmark 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving regulatory takings.  Mark White presented "Protecting Water Resources after Murr v. Wisconsin" with Ellen Denzer and Kevin Grabau of St. Croix County, Wisconsin, at the 2018 American Planning Association National Conference.  At the time, Mark was rewriting the St. Croix County zoning regulations with MSA and Kendig-Keast Collaborative.  Mark published an article on the Murr decision in the latest edition of the American Planning Association's Planning & Law Division newsletter.

Mark White presented on comprehensive planning at the National Business Institute's 2018 "Subdivision, Annexation & Zoning Law: A How-To Guide" webcast.  Click here for his presentation.

Mark White presented at the 2017 American Planning Association National Conference.  Download a copy of his presentation on sign regulations after Reed v. Town of Gilbert here, and his presentation on development codes and land use law here.

Mark White spoke on sign regulations after Reed v. Town of Gilbert at the American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter & Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 3.  Download a copy of his presentation here.

Mark White was the keynote speaker for the South Dakota Planners Association Annual Conference.  Mr. White presented sessions on October 23 and 24, 2013.  Download his presentations here: Zoning Codes for Real People, Comprehensive Planning Policy and Development Codes, and Cutting Edge Planning Issues.

Mark White participated as a panelist in the City of Austin's speaker series for Imagine Austin on October 15-16.  Mr. White joined Peter Park (former planning director of Denver and Milwaukee), Paul Zucker of Zucker Systems, and LaShondra Holmes Stringfellow of the City of Dallas on a session titled Best Practices in Development Review: Smoother! Faster! Smarter!. 

Mark White joined Tina Axelrad of the City of Denver and Elizabeth Garvin of Spencer, Fane Britt & Browne LLP at the 2013 American Planning Association National Conference on April 15, 2013 to present a zoning workshop. Download the How to Write a Zoning Ordinance Workshop presentation as full page slides or handouts.

Our partners presented at the 2012 American Planning Association National Conference on April 14-17, 2012.   Tyson Smith spoke at two sessions: Compatibility Planning Near Military Bases and Mobility Fees, TDRs, and Form-Based Guidelines.  Mark White moderated the How to Write a Zoning Ordinance workshop.   Click here to download the Zoning Ordinance Workshop presentation.

Mark White presented at 4 sessions of the 2011 American Planning Association National Conference in Boston.   These include:

• How to Write a Zoning Ordinance (Saturday, April 9, at 1:00-5:00 p.m.).  This session covers the basics of code drafting, from conventional zoning to form based codes.  We presented with Elizabeth Garvin of Clarion Associates and Tina Axelrad of the City of Denver.  Click here to download the presentation
• Enabling Regional Plan Implementation (Sunday, April 10, at 7:15-8:30 a.m.).   Our panel described tools and techniques to implement regional plans.  Dan Reuter of Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) led the session, Mark White described background principles and our work for ARC, and Uri Avin of Parsons Brinckerhoff described our study of 5 regional agencies' approaches to plan implementation.- click here to download our presentation
• Improving Community Design without Form Based Codes (Monday, April 11, at 2:30-3:45 p.m.).  Form based codes are just one way to improve the design quality of a community.   We presented with John Fernsler of Wallace, Roberts & Todd and Bernard Zyscovich of Zyscovich Architects (author of Getting Real on Urbanism) on ways to improve the practice of coding for community design.  Click here to download the complete presentation
• Application of the Land-Based Classification System as a Planning Support System (Tuesday, April 12, at 9:00-10:15 a.m.).  We are presenting with a distinguished panel led by Ed Hamlyn of the University of Texas-El Paso on ways to incorporate the American Planning Association's Land-Based Classification Standards into zoning codes.  Click here to download our presentation, and click here to order a copy of our September 2005 Zoning Practice article, "Classifying and Defining Uses and Building Forms: Land-Use Coding for Zoning Regulations."

Mark White presented a session on Infill Development and Preservation Tools at the University of Texas School of Law Land Use Planning Conference on April 1, 2011.  The presentation addressed tools to incentivize and streamline infill development while providing a high level of design quality that respects context and form.   Click here for a copy of Mr. White's presentation.

On April 4, 2011, Mark White presented at the National Business Institute seminar on Land Use Law: Current Issues in Subdivision, Annexation and Zoning.  Mr. White's topics were "Environmental Considerations" and "Updating and Monitoring Zoning and Development Regulations."  The seminar took place at the Doubletree Hotel at 10100 College Boulevard in Overland Park, Kansas.   Click here for a copy of the presentation on environmental law and sustainable codes, and click here for a copy of the development codes presentation.

Mark White presented a session on "Missouri Planning and Land Use Law" at the Eastern Jackson County Planning Commissioners Training Series in Lee's Summit, Missouri.   Click here for a copy of the presentation, and click here for the handout.

Mark White presented a session on Form Based Codes at the 2009 Institute on Planning, Zoning & Eminent Domain in Plano, Texas.  Click here to download the presentation, and click here to download our white paper.

We maintained a strong presence at recent American Planning Association National Conferences in San Francisco, San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas. Our conference sessions included: 

• Implementing New Urbanism: the San Antonio Unified Development Code
• Growth Management and Schools
• Land-Based Classification Standards and Zoning
• Instruction Manual for Advanced Regulatory Drafting Drafting (Workshop) 
• Development Codes for Built-Out Communities 
• Zoning on Trial 
• Zoning for Transit-Oriented Development 
• Impact Fees and Environmental Protection 
• Public Participation: How Much is Too Much?

Contact us for a copy of our presentations!

A 21st Century Land Development Code (with Freilich) (American Planning Association, 2008) 

The Zoning and Real Estate Implications of Transit-Oriented Development, Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Legal Research Digest, No. 12 (January 1999) 

Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances and Transportation Management, American Planning Association, Planning Advisory Service Report No. 465, 1996 

Affordable Housing: Proactive and Reactive Planning Strategies, American Planning Association, Planning Advisory Service Report No. 441, 1992. 

“Neotraditional Development: A Legal Analysis,” 49 Land Use Law & Zoning Digest, No. 8 at 3 (August 1997) 

“Voluminous Materials" And Other Evidentiary Devices: Complying With The Telecommunications Act Of 1996, Proceedings of the American Planning Association National Conference, 1992 

Amicus Brief, Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning (1992) 

“Do Unto Religious Uses As You Would Have Done Unto Nonreligious Uses: An Overview of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000,” Fla. Bar Envt’l & Land Use Law Section Reporter (Jan. 2002) 

"Unified Land Management Codes," Municipal Lawyer (Aug. 2006)