LAND USE, ZONING & DEVELOPMENT
Our Firm has extensive experience in land use, zoning and development. Our clients develop new commercial and industrial facilities and expand existing facilities. These projects generally require permits and approvals from local boards and often require additional permits and approvals from state and federal agencies. Our attorneys guide our clients through the approval process by reviewing the project, determining the necessary permits and approvals, completing the necessary applications, navigating through the review process and representing our clients before local boards and state and federal agencies. Because many of the projects we work on are high profile and controversial we ensure that we develop a strong record during the permitting and approval process that can withstand a legal challenge if one is brought challenging the project. As a result, we have successfully litigated issues arising out of land use, zoning and development matters and have defended the permits and approvals we have fought hard to obtain for our clients.
Permitting and Litigation
We have substantial experience working on various permitting matters for commercial and industrial developments before the DEC, EPA, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and other state and federal regulatory agencies. Our objective is to ensure that our clients obtain the necessary permits to operate quickly and cost effectively. Our permitting experience requires our attorneys to regularly negotiate with local, state and federal regulators concerning permitting conditions and, where necessary, to represent clients in administrative hearings and litigation on such matters.
Project Development
We provide guidance and counsel to clients on a wide variety of project development issues, including assisting in the environmental, zoning and land use review processes required under SEQRA, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), among others. On numerous projects, we have counseled clients on compliance with the various local, state and federal laws and regulations that must be complied with in order for projects to receive needed approvals, including counseling clients through the successful completion of simultaneous environmental reviews under state and federal law (including SEQRA and NEPA).
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Our attorneys act as developer counsel for a variety of development projects, including commercial, industrial and retail facilities. In this capacity, we have significant experience representing clients before Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs).
IDAs are public benefit corporations that are empowered to provide financial assistance to private entities through numerous tax incentives in order to promote the economic welfare of a municipality.
Our attorneys have substantial experience representing clients before IDAs to obtain financial benefits which are often necessary for project development. Such representation includes preparation and prosecution of applications for financial benefits, including sales and use tax exemptions, real property tax abatements in the form of Payment in Lieu of Tax Agreements (PILOTs) and mortgage recording tax exemptions. In this capacity, we have secured millions of dollars of financial assistance in connection with project development.