Our Municipal Practice Group guides municipalities through the complex maze of state and federal laws, as well as regulatory mechanisms, associated with governing and improving their communities.
We identify the relevant legal requirements and help municipalities achieve their goals in an appropriate, timely, and cost-effective manner. The practice group is also experienced in helping municipalities to cooperate on a regional basis to solve common problems efficiently by pooling resources, human capital, and ideas amongst various municipalities sharing in community-wide issues.
The attorneys in our Municipal Practice Group have extensive experience in local government zoning, planning, labor, employment, and other legal areas affecting municipalities. No matter the scope of the project, we pride ourselves on providing responsive, effective services to our municipal clients. Services that include, but are not limited to:
- Development of comprehensive plans, zoning laws, and other land use legislation, including local legislation concerning environmental sustainability.
- Labor and employment issues in the public sector sphere, including collective bargaining, investigations, disciplinary actions, policy review and revisions, hearings and other litigation, and general consultation on labor and employment matters.
- Municipal energy programs, including solar and other clean energy expansion, bulk-buying, interfacing with energy providers, and related issues.
- Assisting legislative bodies, zoning boards of appeals, and planning boards in all matters that may arise in a municipality, including with governance, internal operations, and municipal powers.
- Redevelopment of contaminated properties under state and federal brownfields programs.
- Siting and review of wind power projects, solar power projects, and conventional power plants.
- Litigation involving environmental claims, tax assessment review, tax certiorari claims, Eminent Domain/EDPL, labor and employment matters, construction, and other matters.
- Establishment and expansion of sewer, water, fire, ambulance, and other special districts.
- Representation of municipal land banks, local development corporations, industrial development agencies, public housing authorities and other public entities in both private and public real estate development projects, including, procurement, acquisition or disposition, joint developer agreements, economic development incentives, public-private financing, and the like.
- Siting and permitting of solid waste facilities and contracting with private solid waste facility providers.
- Negotiating Real Property Incentives, including Payment in Lieu of Tax agreements.
- Permitting and enforcement proceedings before local, State and federal agencies in all areas.
- Assistance in code enforcement activities, including prosecution of code enforcement violations.
- SEQRA review of residential and commercial projects.
- Funding and approval for infrastructure projects such as water and sewage systems including regionalization and public and private partnerships.
- Establishment and expansion of Empire Zones.
- Redevelopment of former military bases and state facilities.
