URBS 417/517: Urban Law
Online Course
Fall 2011
Prof. Beth Wielde Heidelberg
Office: 106 Morris Hall
Office Phone: 507/ 389-1714
Office Fax: 507/ 389-6377
E-Mail: beth.heidelberg@mnsu.edu
Office Hours: Monday, 9am – 2pm*
Tuesday, 9am – 2pm*
*8am – 9am by appointment
Course Description
In this course, we will be looking at the ‘rules’ you will need to follow in your
practice of planning and management. This class will not be rote memorization of
legal cases and their outcomes. WE will investigate the rules, codes, ordinances, and
policies set by state and federal authorities that you will have to follow in your role
as city planner or manager.
We will, however, be looking at some key cases, investigating their stories and
outcomes, to understand the impact they’ve had on current policies. Consider the
cases we observe a sort of “morality play,” to show you what kind of claims you may
encounter, and how other cities have reacted, and what the outcome of that reaction
has been.
Although it’s not a specific prerequisite, I highly recommend that you take URBS
401/501 prior to this course. There will be cross-referencing of the Foundations
material.
Fall 2011: FIRST MEETING CANCELLED
I know in the registration materials it said we would be having a meeting for the first
class session. Because of the enrollment demographics (there are many students from
great distances), I have decided to cancel this first meeting and just let you delve in to the
sessions.
FALL 2011: “TEMPORARY” SESSIONS
You’ll notice on D2L that a number of the sessions are labeled “Temporary.” What this
means is that the text is in place and ready to go, I simply haven’t been able to “dress
up” the slides yet (add pictures, final slide titles, etc.). But the main part of the session,
the text, is finalized, so you aren’t actually missing any content.
D2L Use
URBS 417/517 will be conducted exclusively online, using the Desire2Learn software
licensed by the university. You must have an active D2L account to access the class.
Books and Materials
There is no textbook assigned for this course. All of your readings are available on D2L.
They are the actual public documents you will use in your practice, not just academic
textbooks. They are all in the public domain and are therefore provided to you at no
cost (which I think makes everyone happy, except the bookstore - but I don’t care about
them).
Course Grades
Date Due
Sept 22
Oct 20
Oct 27
Nov 10
Assignment/ Quiz*
Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Impact Fee Market Survey**
Quiz 3
Points
85
80
45
75
Nov 17
Adult & Religious Land Use
Market Survey**
Practitioner Interview
Final Quiz
45
Dec 1
Dec 5
30
25
What the Quiz Covers
Intro to Intergov’t Cooperation
Annexation to Nature
Religious Land Uses to Street
Graphics/ Signage
Mini Sessions
* Assignments and quizzes (aside from the Final Quiz) tend to be due on Thursday of the
week. Note these dates on your calendar/planner/phone/whatever. Just mark the dates.
**Undergrads must choose one of these market surveys to complete. Grads must do
both. Undergrads – Due dates for the market surveys are static. If you choose to do the
Impact Fee survey, it is due on Oct. 27. If you choose to do the Adult and Religious
Land Use survey, it is due on Nov. 17. No switching the dates around.
Grading Scale
A few years ago, MSU adopted a policy allowing professors to use “shaded” grades. I
have chosen to do this, as I believe, for instance, a B- and a B+ are two completely
different grades of work.
The grading scale I use for the class is as follows:
Grading Scale
Percentage
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
97 - 100%
94 – 96%
90 – 93%
87 – 89%
84 - 86%
80 - 83%
C+
C
CD+
D
DF
77 - 79%
74 - 76%
70 - 73%
67 - 69%
64 - 66%
60 - 63%
59% ↓
I will keep a running record of your points on D2L. You will be able to use this to
determine your percentage in the course at any given time.
Late Assignments
I don’t like late assignments. I try to give students a lot of advance time for assignments,
and expect that at this collegiate level, you are able to complete assignments on time and
in whole. Late assignments are deducted 3 points per day late, and when the points run
out, you cannot turn them in for any points at all.
Course Tests/ Projects
If you miss a quiz deadline, there will be a -3 point deduction for each day it is turned in
late. Once the points run out, you cannot make up a quiz for any points, no matter
how much you beg and plead. I am completely heartless (at least on these matters).
Make up quizzes are given in the case of legitimate emergency. Family birthday parties, oversleeping, and
just plain forgetting the test date are not considered legitimate reasons for missing a test. Funerals, severe
illness, hospitalization, and car accidents are. However, in order to ensure people don’t claim a birthday
party as a “severe illness,” I will require documentation of your emergency for the course file. I’ve noticed
that people will legitimate emergencies don’t usually mind providing documentation.
If you must miss a test, e-mail or call me immediately to set an appointment to make up the test. Students
have one week from the test date to make up the test. You can expect make-up tests to be short answer/
fill in the blank tests, at the instructor’s discretion. So again, you are being strongly advised not to miss a
test.
Also note – I will not hunt you down to let you know you missed a quiz or test. It is your responsibility to
stay on top of your scores and come to me with questions within a reasonable time frame. In other
words, if you miss a quiz in March, don’t wait until late April or (worse) after the final exam to see if you
can make it up. The answer will be “no.” People have tested this rule, and have walked away
disappointed.
Extra Credit
This is an upper division/ graduate level course. I expect that all points you earn will be
through the regular material. There is no extra credit at this level. Don’t even bother to
ask.
Enrollment
You must be enrolled in the course during the semester to earn a grade. I will not “hold
over” a grade, allowing you to take the class one semester and officially enroll in
another. This sometimes happens if the tuition bill cannot be paid, or there is another
dispute on student status. Basic rule: if you don’t have D2L access, you cannot
participate in the class.
Students with Disabilities
MSU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in
educational programs, activities, or services. Students with disabilities requiring
accommodation to participation in class activities or meet course requirements should
first register with the Office of Disability Services, located in 0132 Memorial Library,
telephone 507/ 389-2825, TDD 711, and then contact me as soon as possible.
Cheating, Plagiarism, and Other Academic Fraud
Simply put, don’t do it, even for extra credit. The worst original work is better than the
most perfectly plagiarized. It’s okay to insert other people’s ideas, just make sure you
cite them; after all, you would want credit for an idea you had, right? And remember,
I’ve read and seen a lot of stuff; they actually pay me to do it, so do you want to take
the odds that it’s a paper I’ve used for my dissertation research?
Cheating is not tolerated in any case. If you are caught cheating (and both the T.A. and I
are watching!), you will receive an automatic ‘F’ for the class and your case will be
handled according to University policy.
General Education Requirements
This course fulfills/ does not fulfill a General Education category requirement.
This course fulfills an undergraduate URSI elective.
This course fulfills a graduate level URSI elective.
General Course Schedule and Topic Listing (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Week Of…
Aug 22
Intro and Course Orientation
What’s Due
Aug 29
Torts! An Intro
Sept 5
Data Practices
Sept 12
HR Basics
Sept 19
Intergov’t Cooperation
Sept 26
Annexation
Oct 3
Real Estate Basics
Oct 10
Oct 17
Development Impact Fees/
Dedications
Nurturing Nature
Oct 24
Saints – Religious Land Uses
Oct 31
Adult/ Sexually Oriented Land Uses
Nov 7
Street Graphics and Signage
Nov 14
TBD: Two Mini-Sessions*
Nov 21
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov 28
Strange Laws
Dec 5
Final Exam
DUE SEPT 22: Quiz 1 (Intro to
Intergov’t Coop.)
DUE OCT 20: Quiz 2 (Annexaton
to Nature)
DUE OCT 27 Impact Fee Market
Survey*
DUE NOV 10: Quiz 3 (Saints to
Street Graphics)
DUE NOV 17: Adult & Religious
Land Use Market Survey*
DUE Dec 1: Practitioner Interview
DUE
DEC 5: FINAL QUIZ: Mini
Sessions
*Graduate students must do both market surveys. Undergraduates must do one. However, undergrads
must turn in their selected market survey on the date indicated above – the Impact Fee one is due on Oct
24, the Adult and Religious Land Use Market Survey is due on Nov. 14.