Fowler White Development eNews

2010 APA Florida Annual Conference


Rhea Law	Andrea Zelman

Rhea F. Law and Andrea E. Zelman will be presenting at the 2010 American Planning Association Florida Chapter Annual Conference, September 14-17 at the Tampa Convention Center. Their presentation, "Planning Law Feature: A Year in Review," will cover important legal happenings in Florida during 2010. Senate Bill 1752 will be reviewed, both as a standalone bill granting permit extensions, and in the context of its potential to affect the pending challenges to last year's Senate Bill 360 permit extensions bill. Also discussed will be their expectations of possible changes in how we continue to grow over the coming years, as a result of what laws were (and weren't) enacted this legislative session. Potential effects that passage of Amendment 4 would have will also be discussed. For more information on the APA Annual Conference, please click here.

Forty-eight Fowler White Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America� 2011

R. Gene Aldridge, Garey F. Butler, Karl B. Hanson, Jr., James T. Humphrey, Rhea F. Law, Ronald H. Noble, Jeffrey C. Shannon, Linda L. Shelley, Mac Stipanovich, Jacob D. Varn, Dale W. Vash, and Andrea E. Zelman were among forty-eight Fowler White lawyers selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2011 (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc. of Aiken, S.C.). These lawyers were recognized in the areas of real estate, land use and zoning, environmental, administrative, and construction law. Lawyers were selected for inclusion in this new edition of Best Lawyers based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 39,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas.

Law and Order: Workplace Edition (Penalties, Liabilities and Enforcement...oh my!)

Board Certified immigration attorney, Jennifer G. Roeper, will be a panelist at the South Palm Beach County Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Committee seminar on September 29, 2010 at the Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center. The seminar will focus on the possible fines, penalties and other actions that can be imposed against employers by various state and federal agencies. Click here for more details.

Florida Judge Throws Out Growth Management Law

In a ruling certain to re-fan the flames over growth in Florida, a circuit judge threw out a 2009 developer-backed law that relaxed transportation and other requirements in targeted, high density areas around the state. In a summary judgment that sided with cities and counties, Second Circuit Chief Judge Charles Francis declared SB 360 unconstitutional and ordered state officials to take the controversial law off the books.
Read full story at Miami Herald (free reg. req'd).

Florida Developers Worry About New Water Rules

A series of new rules being considered by the St. Johns River Water Management District will demand more water conservation throughout the region. Developers and public utilities officials applaud the goal but worry about the burdens and costs of new, extensive record-keeping.
Read full story at Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Landowners, Developers Criticize Palm Beach Redevelopment Rules

New development rules intended to breathe life into rundown areas along two busy Palm Beach County corridors could instead suffocate building plans, landowners and developers say. Despite growing concerns from property owners and real estate agents, Palm Beach County commissioners approved redevelopment rules four years in the making for areas along Military Trail and Congress Avenue -- stretching south from West Palm Beach to Lake Worth.
Read full story at South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Winter Haven to Adopt International Property Maintenance Code

The Winter Haven City Commission voted unanimously to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code and related provisions, establishing minimum property maintenance standards for properties within city limits. The IPMC, for the first time in the city's history, prescribes standards for maintaining commercial structures in the city, as well as creating, revising and updating standards for residential property maintenance.
Read full story at NewsChief.

Ormond Beach Gets "Crown Jewel" Donated for Mixed-Use Project

As soccer fields go, those at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex are described by one local competitive team coach as a "crown jewel" in the "top 5 percent" among all state facilities, and the location just got richer from the city's point of view as a 17-acre triangle portion of the sports complex, previously leased for $1 a year, but valued at about $1 million, was just deeded over for free. The gifted land is a corner triangle of a nearly 6,000-acre mixed-use development, expected to bring a 200-acre industrial park, 3,000 homes, and hundreds of higher-wage jobs to the area in the coming years.
Read full story at Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Developer Seeks 10-Year Extension for Pineapple Square Project

The developer behind the proposed Pineapple Square is seeking a 10-year extension from the city to build its $200 million mixed-use project downtown. In exchange for the decade-long extension, the city would not be obligated to sell developer Isaac Group Holdings LLC a State Street parking lot for $1 million -- millions of dollars below market value -- that was agreed to in late 2006.
Read full story at Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Ocala Design Studio Allows Residents to See Development Projects

Are you curious about what the city of Ocala has on the drawing boards, do you have an idea to share or are you thinking of opening a business, developing land or investing in a piece of property? If so, you will soon be able to visit a Community Redevelopment Area Design Studio where there will be information and sketches of new projects, pilot projects and concepts being considered or under way.
Read full story at Ocala.com.

690 Acres in Collier County Up for Public Auction

The nearly 690 acres once planned for an amenity-rich golf course community in eastern Collier County is headed to a public auction. After more than a year-long legal fight, a judge in July approved a nearly $78.1 million judgment in favor of the lender, making it one of the larger mortgage default judgments in Collier County.
Read full story at Naples Daily News.

Brooksville Seeks Payment of $20 Million in Performance Bonds

Left holding the bag by the bankrupt developers of Southern Hills Plantation Club and the neighboring Cascades, the city of Brooksville wants to seek payment of a series of performance bonds worth nearly $20 million so it can make the project more desirable to future developers.
Read full story at St. Petersburg Times.