Services · For Developers

Land-use counsel
for Virginia developers.

What can you build? What will it take to get there? What stands in the way?
I know what the law allows, what the land allows, and which way the political wind is blowing. I have lived development as a sponsor, not only as a lawyer. I understand the economics behind every delay and every choice in the process.

Who is running your approval?

Your deal team has an engineer, a surveyor, maybe a consultant or two.
Everyone does their piece.
No one owns the outcome, and you are left holding the bag.

Ambiguity is expensive.
I frame questions so they can be answered yes or no, tied to the code, and get the answers in writing before you spend six months on engineering.
Weeks go by with no real update.
I chase every open item, whether it sits with the county, the engineer or the consultant, until it has a clear owner and a solid delivery date.
The hearing decides the deal.
Persuasion is a lawyer’s job. I build your case to win the vote.

Someone on your team must interpret the law, negotiate conditions, build cases, and argue for outcomes at the podium. These are legal skills. The strongest development teams have a lawyer working alongside their engineers, consultants, and project managers.

/01

Entitlement Strategy & Pushback

Know which comments are law and which are preference.

Scope
  • → Staff comments sorted: required, discretionary, or legally vulnerable
  • → Pushback wherever appropriate
  • → Understand when to redesign or escalate
  • → Every condition translated into dollar impact
  • → Never concede flexibility to adapt to market changes
/02

Rezonings, Special Use Permits & Variances

When the current zoning won’t support the project, change the zoning.

Scope
  • → Lead with the outcome, then build the engineering and legal case for it
  • → Distillation of technical concessions to minimum legal requirements
  • → Professional community meetings and neighbor outreach
  • → Planning Commission and Board/Council hearings, argued effectively
  • → Variances and zoning administrator appeals before the BZA
  • → Conditions negotiated against pro forma impact
  • → No deal-breaker concessions
/03

Proffers & Conditions

Proffer what wins the vote, not what sinks the deal.

Scope
  • → Every proffer tested against yield-on-cost
  • → Proffer requests held to Virginia’s proffer statutes
  • → Challenges to unreasonable proffer demands
  • → Amendments, interpretation, and enforcement
  • → No proffer your numbers can’t carry
/04

Site Plan & Permitting

Code questions answered before submission, not in the comment letter.

Scope
  • → Legal constraints separated from design preferences
  • → Preliminary and final site plans
  • → Stormwater and E&S control plans
  • → VDOT entrance, grading, and building permits
  • → Every open item tracked, chased, and closed
/05

Transactions, Structure & Strategy

Standard legal work, through the eyes of a developer.

Scope
  • → Acquisition due diligence
  • → Purchase and sale, option, and ROFR negotiation
  • → Development agreements, easements, and rights-of-way
  • → Construction contract negotiation and review
  • → Pro forma and deal structure review
  • → Entity formation and governance
  • → Local team building: engineers, surveyors, contractors, lenders
/06

Land-Use Litigation

Ten years as a litigator. If it makes financial sense, I’ll go there.

Scope
  • → Enforceable legal positions, not rhetorical ones
  • → Review of whether the city/county has the power it asserts
  • → Appeals of BZA decisions
  • → Challenges to governing body decisions and defense of approvals
  • → If all else fails, escalate to the courts
BAR
Virginia State Bar
Admitted to practice throughout the Commonwealth.
BASE
Charlottesville, VA
Remote-first. Meetings virtually, by phone, or on-site.
SCOPE
Statewide, per parcel
Engagements scoped and priced against the specific locality and the specific deal.