Ohio's Land Use & Zoning Counsel
Getting a project approved takes more than knowing the code; it takes knowing how the staff, the boards, and the neighbors actually work. Suder's lawyers have sat on every side of that table, from city hall to the hearing room, and we use that experience to move your project from concept to approval.
Land Use & Zoning
At Suder, zoning and land use law is not just another practice area; it is the practice area. Our founder, Sean Suder, served nearly four years as the City of Cincinnati's Chief Counsel for Land Use and Planning, was lead counsel for the City's land development code, and now rewrites zoning codes for cities across the country through his consulting firm, ZoneCo. That inside knowledge, applied in 66 jurisdictions across Ohio and Northern Kentucky, is why Chambers USA has ranked Sean in Band 1 for Ohio Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use every year since 2019.
How we help
- Rezonings and planned unit developments (PUDs)
- Variances, special exceptions, and conditional use approvals
- Zoning opinions and verification letters for lenders and closings (Ohio, Kentucky, and D.C.)
- Administrative appeals of zoning and planning decisions
- Zoning code drafting, interpretation, and expert witness services
- Public records requests and entitlement due diligence for acquisitions
Representative matters.
Hyde Park Square rezoning
Lead counsel for the successful effort to rezone a portion of Hyde Park Square for a $150,000,000 mixed-use development with apartments, a boutique hotel, and underground parking. A high-profile, contested neighborhood approval.
Crosley Building adaptive reuse
Lead land use counsel for the $50 million conversion of the former Crosley Radio Corp. headquarters into 175 to 250 apartments, with a focus on providing units to artists.
Trail-oriented multifamily
Lead land use counsel on the rezoning that permitted 416 apartments across eight buildings on the Little Miami River Trail. Now under construction.
St. Vincent de Paul outreach center
Lead land use counsel on the rezoning for a new 36,000-square-foot facility for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Cincinnati, including an expanded food pantry, charitable pharmacy, homelessness-prevention services, chapel, health clinic, and call center.
Affordable senior housing in the historic urban core
Suder helped secure a key approval for an affordable senior housing project in one of Cincinnati's historic neighborhoods after the design was reworked to respect its context. Proof that the firm gets projects built in historic districts, not just blocked.
Opposing the Wilmington data center
Counsel in the opposition to a proposed hyperscale data center campus in Wilmington, Ohio, on the questions these projects turn on: whether the use is permitted at all under the existing text, what the campus draws from the local water supply, the generation and transmission that arrives with it, and noise at the property line.
Everything real property.
Real Property Litigation & Appeals
Trial and appellate counsel in real property disputes, with published decisions in Ohio's courts of appeals.
ExploreReal Estate Transactions
Acquisitions, leasing, joint ventures, financings, and condominium structures, handled by former big-firm lawyers.
ExploreEminent Domain & Takings
More than 100 property owners represented in appropriation, inverse condemnation, and regulatory takings matters.
ExploreHistoric Preservation
Certificates of appropriateness, landmark designations, and the fight to keep the buildings worth keeping.
ExploreReal Estate Taxation
Valuation challenges before boards of revision and the Board of Tax Appeals, and abatements that make projects pencil.
ExploreLocal Counsel & Co-Counsel
Ohio and Northern Kentucky local counsel for national firms, plus Texas and New York transactional counsel.
ExploreTalk to us about land use & zoning.
Tell us what you are trying to build, buy, keep, or defend. We will tell you plainly how we can help.