The team is knowledgeable, dependable, and proactive in addressing potential issues. There is a true sense of the team having a handle on not only legal issues, but how those legal issues impact the business side of the transaction. There is a strong depth of resources.
- Chambers USA 2017
Overview
The Land Development, Zoning & Environmental Group provides a broad array of legal and planning services related to transactions, land use entitlements, land development, and environmental matters, as well as government affairs and litigation related to those practice areas. Stearns Weaver Miller organizes these practices in order to maximize our efficiency and creativity in providing solutions and services for our clients. This unique approach sets our Firm apart from the conventional, mainstream thinking in most law firms, and provides opportunities not otherwise achievable by boutiques or mega-firms. While boutiques focus narrowly on certain practice areas, their limited scope does not allow for problem solving from multiple disciplines and perspectives. The result is often one dimensional and fails to adequately consider other available options for the client. Conversely, mega-firms may cover all the practice areas, but may lack efficiency in response to a client’s specific needs due to the constraint of their size and the rigidity of their practice areas. Stearns Weaver Miller strikes a balance, achieving the best of both worlds by providing highly experienced attorneys and planners with in-depth knowledge of their practice areas, while achieving efficiencies due to our moderate size and ability to effectively communicate within the Firm and with our clients. Our approach provides the optimum team for a client’s particular project and objectives without the largeness of bigger firms; the bottom line – high quality services, creative problem solving and effective outcomes.
Our Department is a statewide practice group focused primarily on the Florida marketplace. This focus enables Stearns Weaver Miller to understand Florida’s political, business and development trends at the state, regional and local government level, and to effectively represent and serve our clients throughout all regions of Florida. Our network of offices in Tallahassee, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami provide our firm with convenient access to all regions of Florida, providing direct connections to federal, state, and regional agencies and local government offices. Facilitated by our capital office, we regularly interact with legislative and executive agency directors and staff as well as key industry groups, while also routinely engaging with regional, state and federal offices throughout Florida. In fact, over the course of our careers, we have worked in nearly every local government jurisdiction in Florida.
Our large and diverse practice group provides a broad base of experience, not only in terms of our geographic reach, but also in terms of our understanding of issues and relationships with government. Stearns Weaver Miller has strategically built our practice group to include attorneys and planners from many different professional disciplines, each providing unique assets for our clients. Our team includes attorneys previously serving as in-house counsel for corporations and industry groups, as well as attorneys and planners who formerly held high-level positions with major local governments and regional and state agencies. Our diversity brings multiple perspectives to the table, providing our clients with practical advice and enabling creative problem solving based on our unique backgrounds and decades of experience. These are the key advantages that our practice group provides for our clients.
Executive Order Permit Extension Tracker
When the Governor of Florida declares a state of emergency via Executive Order, Florida law delays and extends the expiration dates of certain permits. Stearns Weaver Miller has launched a web-based tool that tracks Executive Orders declaring states of emergency so you may research whether opportunities exist to extend the expiration of your permits. This first-of-its-kind tool explains what kinds of permits may qualify for extensions, identifies the most recent Executive Orders, and depicts the counties to which they apply. Use the online tracker here.
- Affordable Housing
- Age-Restricted/Retirement Communities
- Agriculture & Agribusiness
- Billboards & Outdoor Advertising
- Brownfields/Contaminated Site Redevelopment
- Cell Towers & Telecommunications
- Chemical Manufacturing
- Commercial/Retail/Shopping Centers/Malls/Big Box Retail
- Community Development Districts
- Community Redevelopment Areas
- Conservation Subdivisions
- DRIs (Developments of Regional Impact)
- Economic/Tax Incentives
- Education & Universities
- Electric Utilities
- Energy Generation & Transmission
- Entertainment/Sports Districts
- Explosives & Fireworks
- Forestry & Timber Harvesting
- Golf Courses/Golf Course Conversions
- Greenfields
- Hospitality, Hotels & Leisure
- Hospitals, Health Care & Medical
- Industrial/Office Parks
- Landfills, Waste Resources & Recycling
- Manufacturing
- Marinas & Water-Dependent Development
- Master Planned Communities
- Mining & Heavy Industry
- Mixed Used Projects
- New Towns
- Petroleum
- Pipelines
- Planned Unit Developments
- Real Estate Development
- Research & Development
- Restaurants
- Rural Villages
- Sector Plans
- Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living & Independent Living Facilities
- Special Area Plans
- Special Planning Areas (Military, Airport, Campus)
- Traditional Neighborhood Developments
- Transportation & Infrastructure
- Urban Redevelopment
- Urban Villages
- Water & Wastewater Utilities
Events:
Florida’s New “Live Local Act”
Florida Eminent Domain Conference |November 2023|Jacob T. Cremer
Events:
2023 Florida Planning Conference
September 2023
Events:
Florida Chamber 37th Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School
July 2023
Firm Announcements:
Felicia Kitzmiller Honored with the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar’s Stephens/Register Award
July 2023
Government Affairs News Update, Land Development News Update, Publications:
What's Developing | Summer 2023
Stearns Weaver Miller News Update|July 2023|Jessica M. Icerman, Nicole A. Neugebauer, Marco T. Paredes, Jr.
Events:
Legislative Update
The University Club of Tampa |June 2023|Jacob T. Cremer
Events:
WEBINAR: SB102 “The Live Local Act”
Stearns Weaver Miller Webinar |May 2023|S. Elise Batsel, Brian J. McDonough, Nicole A. Neugebauer, Marco T. Paredes, Jr.
In the Media:
Council greenlights ‘historic’ gas station’s transformation
The St. Pete Catalyst|May 2023