Standing to Sue Under the Model Land Development Code

Abstract

The Model Land Development Code was promulgated by the American Law Institute as the paradigm for state legislatures to follow when enacting land use laws for the future. The Code is not intended to create uniformity among state laws. Instead, states may use the articles of the Code as models in drafting legislation that is more specifically suited to their needs. Article Nine, which states rules of standing to participate in land use disputes, poses a potential obstacle to would-be public interest litigants. This note will explore the effect of Article Nine on citizen plaintiffs and demonstrate how its ambiguous language, when combined with the particularized laws of standing in individual states, can produce widely divergent effects on the ability of public interest parties to gain access to the courts