Pepperdine University Conference Will Explore Creating Sustainable Communities and Managing Land Use and Environmental Disputes
MALIBU, Calif.-(Business Wire)-September 21, 2009 - Pepperdine University will host “Taking It Upstream: Collaboration, Consensus Building and Sustainable Development — A Green Leadership (Un)Conference” on Friday, Sept. 25, at the University’s Graziadio Conference Center in Malibu. The event, scheduled to take place from 8:15 a.m. to 6 p.m., is being co-sponsored by the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine School of Law, and the Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship & the Law.
The conference was in part motivated by AB 32 and SB 375, which were signed into law in September 2008, establishing the connection between land use planning decisions and climate change. But while the content of this pioneering legislation was formulated with some clarity in Sacramento, the process by which the decisions will be made throughout California remains to be answered. Like no other time in the history of California, relationships between government agencies, and between those agencies and vested “stakeholders,” are being re-constituted.
Pepperdine organizers describe the event as “a highly engaging forum for agencies, planners, architects, developers, public officials, community leaders, attorneys and mediators to explore opportunities for using collaboration and consensus building to create more sustainable communities and manage potential land use and environmental disputes.” The event features a roster of more than 30 expert panelists including city, county, and state officials and representatives from other public and private agencies.
Three morning conversation panels will frame the day in terms of “the Big Picture,” “the Local Perspective,” and “Cutting Edge Collaborative Techniques.” The afternoon program will focus on implementation and solutions in the form of intimate, roundtable dialogues. There will also be a World Café Learning Exchange Lunch, a Mayor’s Panel and, towards the end of the day, a “Take-Aways” Session, a “Green Opportunities” Drawing, and a networking reception.
Conference organizer Steve Zikman is an environmental attorney and mediator and received a Straus Institute Fellowship to create the event. “The morning framing sessions and afternoon roundtables will be highly interactive,” said Zikman. “No boring panels. These will be conversations designed to capture the wisdom of the room, especially regarding green building practices and the implementation of AB 32 and SB 375.”
For more information and to view speakers and panelists, visit the conference Web site at: http://law.pepperdine.edu/news-events/events/upstream.
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