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Zoning Analysis
Having written and enforced the very ordinances that govern development, we bring an insider’s understanding to every zoning analysis, helping developers, property owners, and public entities across New Jersey and Pennsylvania interpret the rules, weigh their options, and chart the most effective path to their goals.
HILL WALLACK LLP
We didn't just learn the ordinances. We wrote them.
Before any project breaks ground, it has to make sense on paper. A clear-eyed zoning analysis tells developers and property owners what a site can support, what relief may be required, and how to get from concept to approval. Hill Wallack LLP’s land use attorneys bring decades of experience to that analysis across both New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania, along with a rare vantage point: we have written and enforced the zoning ordinances, subdivision and land development ordinances, and municipal codes that govern development in the first place.
That experience means we understand how these ordinances work, how they should be interpreted, and how they should be applied. It gives us the ability to see the different routes available to achieve our clients’ goals, and then to develop and implement the strategy most tailored to their needs.
Our depth in zoning analysis is grounded in decades of shaping the field itself. The Land Use Team is the legacy of firm founder Henry Hill, who pioneered work in the Mount Laurel doctrine, an area of law that has affected development throughout much of New Jersey for more than a quarter of a century. We have represented clients in nearly every landmark land use case issued by New Jersey courts over the last few decades, including the Mount Laurel opinions striking down exclusionary zoning, the regulations of the Council on Affordable Housing, redevelopment cases such as Gallenthin v. Paulsboro, and cases evaluating development fees, other exactions, and the Residential Site Improvement Standards.
Our team includes former state officials and recognized leaders in land use law, among them two former chairs of the Land Use Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. That collective knowledge informs every analysis we perform, from the regulatory review of a site at the outset to the strategy for securing the approvals a project needs.
We represent private and public sector clients in all facets of land development, including some of the nation’s leading homebuilders, office and commercial developers, redevelopers, financial institutions, state and local redevelopment authorities, public transportation authorities, municipalities, and local boards. We are also proud to serve as Land Use Counsel to the New Jersey Builders Association, representing the NJBA on legislative, regulatory, and litigation matters affecting the industry.
We also understand that most development projects involve more than the strict application of zoning and land development ordinances. Because these projects affect neighborhoods and entire communities, public reaction and political realities are often just as important as the written words of an ordinance. We recognize the value of community outreach when necessary and the development of consensus where possible.
Every project is driven by different priorities. Sometimes time is of the essence, sometimes a particular design, amenity, or capacity is paramount, and sometimes the end result matters more than the means of getting there. Our analysis accounts for all of it, so the strategy we recommend fits both the ordinance and the objective.
In New Jersey, our attorneys are known for their successful pursuit of planning board approvals and development permits, and, where required, litigation to obtain permits and approvals wrongfully denied by the government. In Pennsylvania, our attorneys regularly appear before the Boards of Supervisors, Borough Councils, and Zoning Hearing Boards of dozens of municipalities throughout Bucks County and Eastern Montgomery County. In both states, we are engaged in the communities where we practice and have built relationships that allow us to work constructively with municipal staff and professionals, an advantage that begins well before any application is filed.
representative matters
- Pursuit of development application approvals for single-family and multi-family communities throughout New Jersey, both large and small
- Drafting and execution of redevelopment plans, ordinances, and agreements for residential and nonresidential projects
- New Jersey Supreme Court proceedings involving redevelopment law, the Mount Laurel doctrine, and other land use issues
- Pursuit of client rezoning objectives before the courts
- Legal advice to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) in preparing and adopting the Atlantic City Tourism District Master Plan
- Land development approvals and zoning relief for an 8+ acre mixed-use traditional neighborhood development (TND) in the commercial core of a local borough, including 13 residential and mixed-use buildings (retail, office, restaurant), a parking garage, and a public piazza
- Zoning approvals for new radio communications towers and facilities in two townships as part of a county-wide upgrade of the emergency communications system
- Land development approvals and zoning relief for three new, state-of-the-art regional elementary schools replacing nine aging schools
- Expansion of buildings and parking area to accommodate the growth of a local church
- Prosecution of a land use appeal from the denial of zoning relief needed to expand the offices of a local real estate broker
Hill Wallack LLP