Public Processes in Real Estate Development
RDEV 212 is a practical, application-based course on evaluating and securing public approvals for development projects. Using real projects and a shared summer site, students learn California land use regulation and local decision-making, then apply these foundations to assess development potential, interpret plans and zoning, select approval pathways, coordinate project teams, prepare and manage applications, work with agencies and stakeholders, navigate public hearings and environmental review, and advance projects toward permits and construction readiness. Legal and policy concepts are taught at a working level, with emphasis on housing, mixed-use, infill, adaptive reuse, and by-right or streamlined approvals.
Topics
- By the end of the course, students will be able to: 1. Explain the basic history of California land use regulation, the distinction between public regulation and private controls, police power, local government structure, and principal forms of public decision-making. 2. Evaluate an urban development site using applicable plans, zoning, objective standards, subdivision requirements, and readily identifiable approval constraints. 3. Identify the principal local and other public agencies, approvals, applications, environmental review requirements, and decision points relevant to an entitlement effort. 4. Interpret the public documents developers use to evaluate and pursue approvals, including application materials, staff reports, hearing records, findings, conditions, maps, and permits. 5. Organize an entitlement team and coordinate the work of the developer, counsel, design and engineering consultants, environmental specialists, and other project participants. 6. Develop a practical entitlement strategy and schedule that addresses application preparation, agency review, environmental review, public process, major dependencies, cost, and risk. 7. Engage agency staff, decision-makers, community members, and other stakeholders in a professional and strategically informed manner. 8. Evaluate conditions of approval, fees, infrastructure obligations, implementation requirements, and other factors that may affect project feasibility and delivery. 9. Communicate a clear, well-supported entitlement recommendation through professional reports, schedules, exhibits, and presentations.
Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027