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Carlton Fields’ land use attorneys and planners have extensive experience in evaluating all manner of zoning and land use issues, including critical areas such as:
- Rezoning
- Comprehensive planning
- Developments of regional impact
- Impact fees
- Developers agreements (specifically including those regarding concurrency mitigation)
- School and transportation concurrency
- Government contracting
- Public construction projects
- Representation of government entities and special districts
- Taxation
- Government operations, financing, and management
- Historic preservation
- Water resources
- Environmental permitting
- Utilities
- Transportation
Carlton Fields’ land use attorneys and planners regularly represent clients from the beginning of a development transaction, through contract negotiations, due diligence, permitting, litigation or appeals (if necessary), up to the completion of a successful development project. We help clients locate viable sites for development or redevelopment and identify any relevant land use issues.
We also assist clients in the preparation of necessary contracts and documents needed to purchase the property, including negotiating the critical inspection period, and conducting the necessary land use due diligence. Such due diligence includes conducting land use and zoning verification, reviewing the status of development and environmental permits, and meeting with local land use and zoning officials regarding issues of specific concern. As a result of such due diligence services, we help clients take a proactive approach by identifying the land use issues in advance and resolving them at the outset of a transaction (either through negotiations with the owner, staff, or the local government body, or, when there is no viable resolution, through contract termination).
Once the property has been purchased, Carlton Fields’ land use attorneys and planners help move the project through the permitting process in an orderly and expeditious manner.
Prior to joining Carlton Fields, many of our land use attorneys and planners worked in local and state government, including the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Natural Resources, and Hillsborough, Orlando, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties. As a result, they are intimately familiar with government regulation from the inside and are well versed in all aspects of environmental and governmental land use permitting. They use this experience in assisting clients through the governmental and agency permitting process, including the required public hearings.
Carlton Fields represents a wide array of land use clients, including private developers and governmental bodies, and, as a result, the firm’s land use attorneys and planners understand the permitting process from the developer’s perspective as well.
The firm’s land use attorneys and planners also recognize the inherently political nature of land use matters and frequently work closely with the firm’s government consultants to resolve land use issues for clients or assist in the development of important state legislation. The firm was, for example, involved in assisting the 2005 Florida Legislature in preparing the new statewide legislation on school and transportation concurrency.
The firm’s land use attorneys and planners recognize that a land use practice is inseparable from the real property that is regulated. Accordingly, they have strong skills in traditional real estate transactions and regularly assist clients in the purchase and sale of property for development where zoning or land use matters are an issue, including negotiating and drafting real estate contracts, reviewing survey and title, preparation of closing documents, deeds, mortgages, easements, plat dedications, and presiding over closings.
In addition to this extensive transactional land use experience, the firm’s attorneys are equally experienced in land use litigation, should the need for such services arise, including local appeals, comprehensive plan challenges, writ of certiorari appeals, and Section 120.57 administrative litigation and appeals.
The firm also acts as agent for the major title companies in the state and has the capacity to serve as title and escrow agent on any real estate transaction.
Finally, the firm’s land use attorneys also have experience in negotiating various zoning and land use representations, warranties, covenants, and restrictions that have become a standard part of development agreements, leases, easements, mortgages and loan agreements necessary for the clients’ land development efforts.
Representative Matters
The firm’s land use and planning attorneys have handled matters in the following representative areas:
- Developments of regional impact
- Rezonings & Variances
- Comprehensive planning and comprehensive plan challenges
- School and transportation concurrency Developers agreements
- Impact Fees
- Real estate transactions, including appraisals, negotiation, drafting, and closings
- Land use litigation
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