South Florida Land Use & Zoning Attorneys
Land use and zoning decisions in South Florida involve state growth management law, local land use plans, and the politics of each planning board and commission. Rezoning. Variances. Special exceptions. Conditional uses. Plat approvals. Development agreements. Our South Florida Land Use & Zoning Attorneys represent landowners, developers, investors, and businesses on land use matters throughout Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties.
We handle the application work, public hearings, and coordination with land planners, traffic engineers, and civil engineers that most land use projects require. Whether you’re seeking a rezoning to support a new use, defending against a code enforcement action, or negotiating a development agreement, reach out to Loshak Law PLLC to discuss what your project will involve at the legal level.
Why Choose Loshak Law PLLC for Land Use & Zoning in South Florida?
Local land use approvals can be straightforward, or they can take two years. The difference often comes down to how the application is packaged, which issues are addressed up front, and whether neighborhood concerns get handled before the public hearing rather than at it. Our real estate attorneys in South Florida work with developers and landowners to build applications that move through the process on the first pass.
Local Legal Knowledge in South Florida
Our founder, Brandon F. Loshak, built the firm’s transactional practice to handle land use matters alongside commercial development, real estate property closing, and business law work. He is admitted to the Florida and Texas bars, earned his J.D. at St. Thomas University School of Law, and holds a finance degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Brandon carries the AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest recognition for legal ability and ethical standards. His background includes work at one of the country’s largest law firms and in the oil, gas, and mineral industries, where land use issues, surface rights, and environmental permitting arose regularly.
Evan C. Leach adds more than 13 years of practice in real estate, business law, asset protection, and complex litigation. A cum laude graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, Evan holds bar admissions in Florida and Massachusetts.
Coordinated Real Estate Services
Our land use work is often part of a larger real estate engagement. Acquisitions tied to rezoning contingencies. Developments that need site plan approval before construction loan closing. Plats filed alongside development agreements. Coordinating these pieces within a single firm reduces friction between the legal tracks. Our firm is also an authorized title agent with Old Republic Title through The Fund, allowing us to handle title work, closings, and land use matters from the same office.
Transparent Fee Structure
We discuss fees openly at the outset of every land use engagement. Simple variance petitions and administrative site plan approvals work well on flat fees. Rezonings, plan amendments, and contested matters are usually better handled hourly, given the variability in hearing timelines. Clients have closed real estate transactions totaling millions of dollars through our office.
What Clients Say
★★★★★
“As out-of-state owners, we needed a competent and trustworthy team. We will use them again and have recommended them to colleagues.” – Shlomo Landau
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Types of Land Use & Zoning Cases We Handle in South Florida
Land use practice covers everything from minor variances to future land use map amendments. The common thread is that each application runs through a specific process with deadlines, hearing requirements, and standards that the local government applies when reviewing.
- Rezoning petitions. Applications to change the zoning classification of a property to permit a proposed use, filed with the appropriate local government and prosecuted through staff review and public hearings before planning and zoning boards and the governing body.
- Variances. Petitions for relief from specific zoning requirements such as setback, height, lot coverage, or parking standards. Variances typically require proof of hardship unique to the property. We handle variance work for commercial sites and for residential real estate homeowners.
- Special exceptions and conditional uses. Applications for uses permitted in a zoning district only upon specific findings by the local government, such as drive-through facilities, gas stations, assisted living facilities, or restaurants serving alcohol.
- Site plan approvals. Site plan applications for commercial, multifamily, and mixed-use projects, including administrative site plans and major site plan approvals requiring public hearings.
- Plat and replat applications. Subdivision, plat, and replat applications coordinated with the county surveyor and local land development department, along with plat vacations where an existing plat needs to be superseded.
- Development agreements. Binding agreements between developers and local governments that lock in permitted uses, densities, infrastructure contributions, and public improvements over a defined period.
- Future land use map amendments. Applications to change the future land use designation of a property to support a proposed rezoning or redevelopment, including transmittal hearings, state agency review, and adoption hearings.
- Code enforcement defense and appeals. Representing property owners before special magistrates and code enforcement boards, responding to notices of violation, and appealing land use decisions to boards of adjustment or through certiorari review in circuit court.
- Land use due diligence for acquisitions. Reviewing zoning classifications, future land use designations, entitlement status, and nonconforming use rights as part of acquisition due diligence for commercial real estate buyers and for commercial real estate development sites. We coordinate with business formation when a new entity is created to hold title.
- Hospitality and alcohol-licensed property matters. Land use coordination on properties with alcohol beverage licensing, where local distance separation ordinances and zoning restrictions intersect with state beverage law.
Florida Legal Requirements for Land Use & Zoning
Land use and zoning in Florida operates within a framework of state growth management law, county and municipal home rule authority, and specific statutes governing planning, platting, and development agreements.
Home rule authority for counties is found in Chapter 125 of the Florida Statutes, which grants counties broad legislative power to adopt zoning ordinances, issue development orders, and regulate land use within unincorporated areas. Municipalities draw their home rule power from Chapter 166 of the Florida Statutes, including the adoption and amendment of zoning and land development regulations through the procedures set out in § 166.041.
Local plan amendments must follow the procedures in Section 163.3184 of the Florida Statutes. Most amendments proceed through an expedited state review, which involves a transmittal hearing by the local government, a 30-day comment period during which state agencies may review, and an adoption hearing at which the local government takes final action. Certain larger or more complex amendments, including those within Areas of Critical State Concern, proceed through the state coordinated review process with expanded agency review.
Environmental and resource management considerations come into most land use matters. Chapter 380 of the Florida Statutes, the Environmental Land and Water Management Act, governs Areas of Critical State Concern and the statutory sector plan process. In South Florida, the South Florida Water Management District administers the Environmental Resource Permit program, which applies to almost every project that involves new impervious surface, wetland impacts, drainage modifications, or surface water discharge.
Local land development codes build on state law. Every county and municipality has its own zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, and development review procedures. Applications must meet local standards and state requirements, and the specific mix of hearings, timelines, and public notice rules varies by jurisdiction.
Important Aspects of a South Florida Land Use & Zoning Case
Land use matters move through predictable phases, each with its own legal work. Our South Florida land-use attorney focuses on the following components of a typical project.
Pre-Application Research
The strongest applications start with homework before any paperwork is filed. Zoning classification, future land use designation, applicable overlays, nonconforming use rights, and existing entitlements all get mapped out first. Pre-application meetings with local planning staff often surface issues that will come up in review, and those issues are better addressed in the application than in response to staff comments later.
Application Preparation and Consultant Coordination
Most land use applications require coordination among multiple consultants. Land planners prepare narratives and justification statements. Traffic engineers run analyses when trip generation is at issue. Civil engineers prepare site plans, drainage, and utility documentation. Surveyors produce the plat, boundary survey, or topographic survey that the application needs. Legal counsel integrates these inputs into a coherent application that complies with local standards.
Neighborhood and Stakeholder Outreach
Discretionary approvals are won and lost on neighborhood response. Pre-application meetings with neighborhood associations, HOAs, business improvement districts, and adjacent property owners let the applicant identify concerns and adjust the application before the public hearing. Local elected officials also appreciate being briefed in advance rather than surprised at a hearing.
Public Hearings and Quasi-Judicial Proceedings
Most rezoning, variance, and site plan hearings in Florida are quasi-judicial, meaning that the decision-making body acts as a judge rather than as a legislator. Quasi-judicial proceedings require competent substantial evidence to support the decision, allow cross-examination of witnesses, and restrict ex parte contacts with decision-makers. Preparing a proper evidentiary record matters both for the immediate decision and for any appeal.
Conditions of Approval and Development Orders
Approvals often come with conditions. These might include off-site infrastructure contributions, buffering and screening requirements, phasing restrictions, operating hour limitations, or site-specific covenants. Reviewing proposed conditions before the motion is made at the hearing, and negotiating revisions to unworkable conditions, is often the most valuable work at the hearing itself.
Appeals and Judicial Review
When an application is denied or approved with unworkable conditions, the review pathway depends on the nature of the decision. Quasi-judicial zoning decisions are typically reviewed by petition for writ of certiorari in circuit court on the existing record. Legislative land use decisions are generally reviewed through different procedures. Appeal deadlines are short and strict, so early evaluation of review options is important.
Contact Loshak Law PLLC
If you’re preparing a rezoning petition, defending against a code enforcement action, negotiating a development agreement, or evaluating land use risk on an acquisition, early legal involvement helps structure the application and timeline. Our land use and zoning attorneys serve clients throughout Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties from offices in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood. Contact us to schedule a consultation. During that first conversation, we will review the property, the proposed use, and the likely approval pathway, identify the consultants your project will need, and quote fees openly. Put the experience of the attorneys at Loshak Law PLLC to work on your next land use matter.
