Zoning & Land Use

We work closely to coordinate efforts with our real estate and finance attorneys seamlessly, offering a complete range of professional services necessary to successfully navigate the ever-changing local, state and federal regulatory environment. Our attorneys have deep experience not only in Philadelphia, PA, but also in Pennsylvania’s suburban counties and South Jersey. 

Our renowned team includes attorneys previously in practice with governmental agencies and legislative bodies, and the combined talents and efforts of our attorneys have earned us a reputation for strong and effective advocacy throughout the business community. Chambers USA recognizes our team in Band 1 for Zoning/Land Use has recognized four individuals. According to Chambers USA, 2023, clients reported, “Klehr Harrison’s land use and zoning team is the best in the Greater Philadelphia area. It has a deep bench of attorneys in this area of the law.”

We remain active in numerous bar associations, industry groups and civic and charitable endeavors to be the most effective advocates for our clients by understanding their business needs. These relationships give us credibility with civic groups, elected officials, appointed boards and the courts. Our active participation includes the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia, the Urban Land Institute, and many other organizations identified in our attorneys’ profiles.

We have proven experience in all areas of real estate development and municipal law, including the following:

Representative Agencies

We regularly appear before all of the administrative agencies, legislative bodies and courts throughout the region. The following is a representative list of those Philadelphia City Agencies, suburban municipalities and courts where our members regularly appear:

• City of Philadelphia 
  

  Air Management Services. Art Commission. Board of Building Standards. Board of Licenses and Review. Board of Revision of Taxes. City Surveyor Department. Department of Licenses and Inspections. Fire Department.

  Fire Safety Board. Health Department. Historical Commission. Planning Commission. Streets Department. Tax Review Board. Water Department. Zoning Board of Adjustment.

• Suburban Municipalities
  We appear before all pertinent local zoning offices, planning boards, zoning hearing boards, and governing bodies throughout the Philadelphia collar counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery) and the eastern half of Pennsylvania, including Allentown, Lancaster, Harrisburg and Pocono Mt. region of Hazleton, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. 
• State and Federal Agencies
  In many instances, our attorneys must coordinate between and among various regulatory bodies having jurisdiction for a particular project. These include:
  • Army Corps of Engineers.
  • Handicapped Accessibilities Board of the Department of Labor and Industry.
  • Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
  • Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency.
• Courts
  Our large and diverse practice requires that we be effective advocates for our clients in the courts. These include:
  • Philadelphia Municipal Court and suburban magistrates’ courts for code violation appeals.
  • Courts of common pleas that have jurisdiction over appeals from administrative agencies and equitable jurisdiction for injunction actions.
  • Appellate courts in Pennsylvania (including the Commonwealth Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court).
  • Federal courts at all levels.

Select Representative Matters

• Our zoning and land use team has been an integral part of the legal team working on the horizontal development of the 1,300-acre site of the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in South Philadelphia for industrial and life science uses.
• Representation of a leading sports and entertainment company to obtain land use approvals for a proposed $1.3 billion basketball arena in Center City, Philadelphia, PA.
• Representation of a national industrial developer in connection with developing an approximately 600,000-square-foot warehouse in Upper Merion, PA (Montgomery County).
• Representation of a New York-based private real estate company as zoning and land use counsel to develop a 100,000-square-foot warehouse and industrial facility in Trainor, PA (Delaware County).
• Representation of a Dallas-based real estate investment firm in obtaining civic design review approval for a 146,272-square-foot warehouse and distribution center located on 14.5 acres of vacant, densely vegetated land in Northeast Philadelphia.
• Representation of a regional multifamily developer in connection with a 72-unit expansion of an existing apartment complex in Middletown Township, PA (Bucks County).
• Representation of a national multifamily developer in connection with developing a 304-unit luxury multifamily apartment complex along the riverfront in Conshohocken, PA (Montgomery County).
• Representation of a San Francisco-based real estate investment trust in the review and analysis of zoning and development documents in connection with the acquisition of a 1,000,000-square-foot warehouse/distribution facility in Manchester, PA (York County). In connection with our diligence review, we assisted with the drafting and negotiating of certain post-closing estoppels to ensure that all development obligations were completed by the seller and/or tenant pursuant to the development documents.
• Representation of a national industrial-focused developer with respect to rezoning the site to industrial in Northeast Philadelphia for redevelopment into a 900,000 sq. ft. last-mile distribution center.
• Representation of a New Jersey-based real estate investment and development company as zoning counsel for three industrial buildings in Hazleton, PA.
• Representation of a Georgia-based self-storage developer on the Zoning Hearing Board approval, conditional use approval and land development approval for a proposed indoor and outdoor self-storage project in West Norriton Township (Montgomery County). 
• Representation of a Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust in zoning and land use matters for the ground-up construction of a 14-story, 472,000-square-foot life science building with options for full floors of intensive chemical and biological lab use, including the potential for GMP and vivarium functions, with underground parking, mixed-use of commercial retail on lower floors and higher floors to be used for bio/life sciences research and development.
• Representation of a Dallas-based privately owned real estate investment and development firm as land use counsel to demolish a 140,000-square-foot building in Northeast Philadelphia to make way for a proposed 400,000-square-foot warehouse building to be constructed on speculation and leased to a Fortune 5 company. We successfully obtained by-right zoning permits for relocating lot lines and the new construction. We successfully obtained a by-right zoning permit for the new construction of a 167,000-square-foot last-mile distribution facility.
• Representation of a New York-based developer in connection with the redevelopment of a former regional shopping mall in Cheltenham, PA (Montgomery County), into a 400,000-square-foot retail shopping center. 
• Representation of a Dallas-based senior living developer in connection with the development of 250 luxury independent living, assisting living and memory care units in Ambler, PA (Montgomery County). 
• Representation of a national real estate developer in connection with redeveloping a former office park into a 272-unit luxury multifamily apartment complex in Upper Moreland, PA (Montgomery County).
• Representation of a national real estate developer in connection with developing a 180-unit luxury multifamily apartment complex in Worcester, PA (Montgomery County).
• Representation of a regional developer in connection with developing a mixed-use project consisting of 480 multifamily units, 45,000 square feet of office and 150,000 square feet of retail in Towamencin, PA (Montgomery County).
• Representation of a regional developer in connection with the redevelopment of 2 former elementary schools into 55+ age-restricted communities in Bristol, PA (Bucks County).