By Leigh Kellett Fletcher | Last week at the Urban Land Institute Spring Meeting, I had the opportunity to tour parts of the second and third wards of Houston, Texas to look at urban revitalization developments in those areas. The striking differences between the two projects we toured led me to think about the intersection […]

By Leigh Kellett Fletcher | Developers who take on redevelopment projects do so because despite the heightened risk, there is the potential for great reward on many levels. Successful development projects are financially successful, transform communities and are intellectually satisfying because innovation and creativity are often required to overcome the inherent challenges posed by the […]

By Leigh Kellett Fletcher | During the recession, many community development districts (“CDDs”), special purpose units of local government established to fund public infrastructure, restructured bond debt to offset the impact of nonpayment of special assessments by developers unable to sell homes and meet their financial obligations. Post recession, as home sales increase and developers […]

By Leigh Kellett Fletcher | Americans for the Arts, a national nonprofit recently released a report summarizing the economic impact of creative industries in the United States. The report includes a state-by-state snapshot of creative industries, including both for profit and non-profit businesses involved in the production or distribution of the arts. Businesses included are […]

By Anne Pollack | No, says the 1st District Court of Appeal in City of Jacksonville v. Smith (2015 WL 798154) In 2005, the Smiths purchased a parcel of undeveloped riverfront property directly adjacent to a property that was owned by the City and limited with a deed restriction to the leisure and recreation of […]

By: Leigh Kellett Fletcher The severe weather events of the last few years combined with an increasing scientific consensus that extreme weather, sea level rise, and increasing natural resource exploitation are causing global ecosystems to falter have led many communities around the world to initiate planning for disaster mitigation and an evaluation of the steps […]

By: Leigh Kellett Fletcher If you have ever attended a homeowners’ association (“HOA”) or community development district (“CDD”) meeting and found yourself listening to an hour long debate about the type of annuals being used at the community entrance, debated the pros and cons of proposed location of holiday light displays, or you have face palmed […]

By Anne Pollack Local government lawyers take note – the ability to regulate signage is being examined again by the US Supreme Court. This month, the high court took up a city’s regulation of directional signage. Once again, the age old legal question is where the line can be drawn to regulate free speech. In the […]

Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be Impacted On August 27, 2014, the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration listed 20 additional corals as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.  The new coral designations will impact development applications in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  […]

Anne Pollack We are happy to announce that Super Lawyers has named Anne Pollack as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star.” Super Lawyers are considered the top attorneys in the state with a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Rising Stars are considered up-and-coming attorneys in the state who are 40 years old and […]