In this episode of PlanningxChange, Jess and Peter speak with Mary Reilly, a planner and educator with deep experience in rural land-use issues. Mary helps us unpack the widely discussed Old Mission case from Michigan - a dispute between wineries and a township over land-use controls that resulted in a major federal damages award (approx $50m US). The discussion does not explore the legal merits or the ongoing appeal; instead, it uses the case to illuminate broader lessons for planners everywhere.
Mary reflects on how agricultural areas are changing, how councils manage risk, and how planning systems can better balance rural preservation with economic adaptation. She also draws on her teaching experience to explain how real cases help future planners understand complexity, conflict, and the value of clear decision-making.
Five Key Themes We Explore
1. What the Old Mission case reveals about zoning and regulation
Mary outlines how restrictive controls can create tension when agricultural enterprises diversify into tastings, events, weddings and food service — activities that increasingly blur the line between “farm” and “commercial.”
2. Balancing preservation with economic survival
Many farms depend on supplementary income. Mary discusses how planners can support this economic reality while still protecting landscape character, amenity and long-standing rural values.
3. Managing risk for councils and planners
A large damages award raises questions about insurance coverage and liability. Mary talks about how planners can help councils navigate uncertainty through clearer drafting, transparent process and sound policy grounding.
4. The unique pressures on small rural municipalities
Old Mission, like many small townships, has limited planning resources. Mary explores how smaller councils can respond to complex disputes and why early community engagement can prevent escalation.
5. Lessons for planning education and practice
Drawing on her academic work, Mary explains how real planning conflicts — like Old Mission — help students and practitioners think critically about regulation, equity, and the evolving expectations placed on rural land.
Podcast Extra / Culture Corner
Mary recommends Zoned in the USA by Sonia Hirt (https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801479878/zoned-in-the-usa/#bookTabs=1) and ‘Paris Tea’. Jess recommends going off-line and embracing being bored. Pete recommends furniture beeswax (https://gillysaustralia.com.au) and maintaining the things around you. Episode released 27 November 2025.
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In this episode of PlanningxChange, Jess and Peter speak with Mary Reilly, a planner and educator with deep experience in rural land-use issues. Mary helps us unpack the widely discussed Old Mission case from Michigan - a dispute between wineries and a township over land-use controls that resulted in a major federal damages award (approx $50m US). The discussion does not explore the legal merits or the ongoing appeal; instead, it uses the case to illuminate broader lessons for planners everywhere.
Mary reflects on how agricultural areas are changing, how councils manage risk, and how planning systems can better balance rural preservation with economic adaptation. She also draws on her teaching experience to explain how real cases help future planners understand complexity, conflict, and the value of clear decision-making.
Five Key Themes We Explore
1. What the Old Mission case reveals about zoning and regulation
Mary outlines how restrictive controls can create tension when agricultural enterprises diversify into tastings, events, weddings and food service — activities that increasingly blur the line between “farm” and “commercial.”
2. Balancing preservation with economic survival
Many farms depend on supplementary income. Mary discusses how planners can support this economic reality while still protecting landscape character, amenity and long-standing rural values.
3. Managing risk for councils and planners
A large damages award raises questions about insurance coverage and liability. Mary talks about how planners can help councils navigate uncertainty through clearer drafting, transparent process and sound policy grounding.
4. The unique pressures on small rural municipalities
Old Mission, like many small townships, has limited planning resources. Mary explores how smaller councils can respond to complex disputes and why early community engagement can prevent escalation.
5. Lessons for planning education and practice
Drawing on her academic work, Mary explains how real planning conflicts — like Old Mission — help students and practitioners think critically about regulation, equity, and the evolving expectations placed on rural land.
Podcast Extra / Culture Corner
Mary recommends Zoned in the USA by Sonia Hirt (https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801479878/zoned-in-the-usa/#bookTabs=1) and ‘Paris Tea’. Jess recommends going off-line and embracing being bored. Pete recommends furniture beeswax (https://gillysaustralia.com.au) and maintaining the things around you. Episode released 27 November 2025.
PlanningxChange 126: Key to the City - How Zoning Shapes Our World: Sara Bronin
PlanningXChange
51 minutes 44 seconds
11 months ago
PlanningxChange 126: Key to the City - How Zoning Shapes Our World: Sara Bronin
Our guest is Sara Bronin a Mexican-American architect and attorney whose interdisciplinary research focuses on how law and policy can foster more equitable, sustainable, well-designed, and connected places. She is the author of Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World, and she founded and directs the National Zoning Atlas, which aims to digitize, demystify, and democratize information about zoning in the United States. She has advised the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Sustainable Development Code, has served on the board of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, and founded Desegregate Connecticut. Previously, she led the award-winning, unanimously adopted overhaul of the zoning code and city plan of Hartford, Connecticut. Bronin holds a juris doctor from Yale Law School, a master of science from the University of Oxford (Rhodes Scholar), as well as a B.Arch. and B.A. from the University of Texas–Austin.
In the interview Sara outlines her experiences including being a Commissioner at the City of Hartford which helped shape the book and the array of issues covered in ‘Key to the City’.
In podcast extra / culture corner Sara recommends ‘Climate Change and Historic Preservation
‘ (Sept 2024) https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llglrd/2024555212/2024555212.pdf. Jess recommends the Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/au/title/81479059) and Pete recommends two books and making omelettes. Episode released 19 January 2025.
PlanningXChange
In this episode of PlanningxChange, Jess and Peter speak with Mary Reilly, a planner and educator with deep experience in rural land-use issues. Mary helps us unpack the widely discussed Old Mission case from Michigan - a dispute between wineries and a township over land-use controls that resulted in a major federal damages award (approx $50m US). The discussion does not explore the legal merits or the ongoing appeal; instead, it uses the case to illuminate broader lessons for planners everywhere.
Mary reflects on how agricultural areas are changing, how councils manage risk, and how planning systems can better balance rural preservation with economic adaptation. She also draws on her teaching experience to explain how real cases help future planners understand complexity, conflict, and the value of clear decision-making.
Five Key Themes We Explore
1. What the Old Mission case reveals about zoning and regulation
Mary outlines how restrictive controls can create tension when agricultural enterprises diversify into tastings, events, weddings and food service — activities that increasingly blur the line between “farm” and “commercial.”
2. Balancing preservation with economic survival
Many farms depend on supplementary income. Mary discusses how planners can support this economic reality while still protecting landscape character, amenity and long-standing rural values.
3. Managing risk for councils and planners
A large damages award raises questions about insurance coverage and liability. Mary talks about how planners can help councils navigate uncertainty through clearer drafting, transparent process and sound policy grounding.
4. The unique pressures on small rural municipalities
Old Mission, like many small townships, has limited planning resources. Mary explores how smaller councils can respond to complex disputes and why early community engagement can prevent escalation.
5. Lessons for planning education and practice
Drawing on her academic work, Mary explains how real planning conflicts — like Old Mission — help students and practitioners think critically about regulation, equity, and the evolving expectations placed on rural land.
Podcast Extra / Culture Corner
Mary recommends Zoned in the USA by Sonia Hirt (https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801479878/zoned-in-the-usa/#bookTabs=1) and ‘Paris Tea’. Jess recommends going off-line and embracing being bored. Pete recommends furniture beeswax (https://gillysaustralia.com.au) and maintaining the things around you. Episode released 27 November 2025.
