Zoning and Planning

The attorneys in this subgroup assist our municipal clients in their efforts to regulate land uses within their communities. We draft, enforce, and interpret zoning, environmental, and other land use ordinances and negotiate development agreements intended to ensure compliance with those regulations and to carry out their intent. We review master land use plans for statutory compliance. We regularly attend council/ board, planning commission, and zoning board of appeals meetings and participate in public hearings on land use approvals involving site plans and subdivision plans, planned unit developments, and special land use permits. We provide training and educational seminars to our municipal clients and their councils, boards, and commissions.

We also defend municipal land use decisions in the trial and appellate courts against inverse condemnation ("taking") claims and challenges under equal protection or due process theories. We have successfully defended our clients' decisions in both the state and federal courts on countless occasions, and have been asked to file appellate "friend of the court" briefs on land use issues on behalf of groups such as the Michigan Municipal League, the Michigan Townships Association, the Public Corporation Section of the State Bar of Michigan, and the American Planning Association.