About Dwight Merriam

Dwight H. Merriam has practiced law for four decades. He represents land owners, developers, governments, and individuals in land use matters. Dwight is a Fellow and Past President and of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a former Director of the American Planning Association, a former chair of APA’s Planning and Law Division, a former chair of the American Bar Association’s national Section of State and Local Government Law, the Connecticut member of Owners’ Counsel of America, a former Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute National Advisory Board, a Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, a Counselor of Real Estate, a member of the AARPI, and a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

He has taught land use law at the University of Memphis, the University of Bridgeport, Vermont Law School, the University of Connecticut School of Law, and the Quinnipiac University School of Law where he was a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence and has published over 200 articles and twelve books including Inclusionary Zoning Moves Downtown, The Takings Issue, The Complete Guide to Zoning, Eminent Domain Use and Abuse: Kelo in Context, and Group Homes. He is lead author of the leading casebook in his field, Planning and Control of Land Development, and co-editor of the leading treatise in the field, Rathkopf’s The Law of Zoning and Planning 4th.

Dwight proudly served for seven years on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer, including three tours in Vietnam, and 24 more years in the reserves, retiring as a Captain following his command of the reserve augmentation unit of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. To read more about Dwight’s extensive military career, please click here.