Trenam Law’s Land Use and Government attorneys focus their combined resources on the interrelated fields of governmental law and real estate development. We understand today’s regulatory issues and take an active role in the shaping of development trends in Tampa, St. Petersburg, the surrounding Tampa Bay area, and throughout Florida. We appear before reviewing bodies at the federal, state, and local levels, bringing essential knowledge about procedures, personalities, and inclinations.
Our Land Use and Government Law attorneys work closely with lawyers in our Construction, Real Estate and Lending Transactions, Eminent Domain and Property Rights Litigation groups, and the firm’s Hospitality Team to provide multiple legal services for our clients based on their needs. We also frequently work on multi-disciplinary teams with architects, land use planners, engineers, and business professionals to create successful strategies for clients on complex development projects.
Our lawyers handle a full range of complex issues facing property owners, developers, and government entities, including the following:
- Adaptive reuse
- Affordable housing
- Alcohol permitting
- Code enforcement issues
- Coastal development and permitting
- Comprehensive plan amendments
- Development agreements
- Developments of Regional Impact (DRI’s)
- Due diligence for transactions and financing
- Governmental advocacy
- “Grandfathered” status for uses and structures
- Land use and development litigation
- Historic designation issues
- Mixed-use projects
- Permits and approvals for development
- Public-private partnerships
- Privately initiated local code changes
- Procurement and bid protests
- Rezonings
- Religious rights and land use
- Regulation and ordinance drafting
- Takings, property rights, and condemnations
- Transit-oriented development
- Variances
Representative Matters
- Represented City of Tampa for City Council rezoning, comprehensive plan, and alcohol license hearings, Variance Review Board (VRB) hearings, Architectural Review Commission (ARC) hearings, Barrio Latino Commission (BLC) hearings, Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) hearings, and Code Enforcement Magistrate/Code Enforcement Board hearings.
- Represented Hernando County on 2 development agreements that memorized the creation of necessary infrastructure to develop over 3,000 residential units and 50,000 sf of commercial property for a 1,300 acre golf course community.
- Handled large scale investment acreage transactions throughout Florida for private investors and developers, for mining, timbering, development, and agricultural purposes.
- Represented a condominium association in negotiations of access easements and shared parking agreements required by proposed zoning change in the City of Tampa.
- Represented a developer in conducting due diligence on a national multi-property real estate acquisition for conversion to special concept office and residential uses.
- Privately initiated a text amendment to a city’s land development code establishing land development regulations allowing and regulating solar power generation facilities.
- Successfully advocated against the adoption of a comprehensive plan amendment which would have prevented residential development within the Rattlesnake Point Waterfront Area in the City of Tampa.
- Representation of a window manufacturing establishment on various land use, zoning and code enforcement matters before the City of Venice.
- Successful representation of a condominium community involving a multi-year community-wide code enforcement matter in Hillsborough County.
- Successfully obtained entitlements for the redevelopment of a residential community in Pasco County as an adult community.
