Agenda / Content Covered

• THE ZONING PROCESS
  9:00 - 10:30, Sheldon Berns, Majeed G. Makhlouf and Benjamin J. Ockner
  
  • The Power to Zone
  • Constitutional and Statutory Limitations
  • Municipal Zoning Regulations and Procedures
  • Initiative and Referendum
  • Conditional Use Permits
  • Vested Rights
  • Nonconforming Uses
  • Variances
  • Township Zoning Regulations and Procedures
• THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
  10:45 - 12:15, Sheldon Berns, Majeed G. Makhlouf and Benjamin J. Ockner
  
  • Subdivision Approvals
  • Impact Fees and Exactions
  • Development Agreements
  • Environmental Approvals
  • JEDD Agreements
  • Annexations
• THE COST AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF MULTILAYERED LAND USE REGULATORY PROCESSES
  1:15 - 2:15, Sheldon Berns, Majeed G. Makhlouf and Benjamin J. Ockner
  
• ZONING AND LAND USE LITIGATION
  2:30 - 3:30, Sheldon Berns, Majeed G. Makhlouf and Benjamin J. Ockner
  
  • Administrative Appeals
  • Declaratory Judgment Actions
  • Damage Actions Under 42 U.S.C. §1983
  • Takings Claims
• ETHICS IN ZONING AND LAND USE LAW
  3:30 - 4:30, Robert A. Zimmerman
  
  • Administrative Land Use Matters
  • Legislative Land Use Matters
  • Complying with the Code of Professional Responsibility
  • Identifying and Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
  • From the Standpoint of the Government Lawyer
  • Ex Parte Contacts with Decision Makers

SHELDON BERNS is a member of Berns, Ockner & Greenberger, LLC, where his practice is concentrated in zoning and land use, real estate, construction and eminent domain. He has successfully litigated numerous zoning and land use cases, including many in the Ohio Supreme Court. Mr. Berns has represented numerous local and national property owners and developers regarding real estate, zoning and land use issues throughout Ohio, and has written and lectured extensively on zoning and land use issues. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. 2nd and 6th Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Court of Claims and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Berns belongs to the Cleveland, Ohio State and American bar associations, where he participates in the Litigation; Construction; and Urban, State and Local Government Law sections. He is a life member of the 8th Judicial Conference and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the practice areas of real estate, land use and zoning, eminent domain, condemnation, and litigation in those areas for more than 20 years. Mr. Berns was selected by Best Lawyers as Cleveland’s 2014 Lawyer of the Year in real estate. He is a summa cum laude graduate of The Ohio State University and earned his LL.B. degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he has been named to the Society of Benchers.

MAJEED G. MAKHLOUF is a partner of Berns, Ockner & Greenberger, LLC, where he concentrates his practice on real estate development and transactions, economic development, public-private partnerships, land use and zoning, construction, and competitive procurement law. He also serves as an arbitrator and mediator and is a panel member with the American Arbitration Association (Commercial, Construction). Mr. Makhlouf served approximately four years as Cuyahoga County’s first permanent director of law, during which time he built the law department for Ohio’s largest county. As the county’s chief legal counsel, Mr. Makhlouf was responsible for advising the county on the full range of issues affecting its $1.3 billion operations. He directed the legal teams that structured financing, development, and construction contracts for some of the county’s highest-profile projects. Prior to serving as county director of law, Mr. Makhlouf was a partner with a regional law firm where he litigated, tried, and arbitrated various construction, zoning, business, and public contracting matters, including in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He also previously served as a Planning Commission member in the city of Bay Village, Ohio. Mr. Makhlouf is active in the legal community and served as a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. He earned his B.A. degree from Hiram College and his J.D. degree from The Ohio State University College of Law.

BENJAMIN J. OCKNER is a member at Berns, Ockner & Greenberger, LLC, where his practice focuses primarily on zoning, land use, eminent domain, and real estate and business litigation and transactions. He has been instrumental in obtaining successful outcomes in several major zoning and land use cases in the Ohio Supreme Court. He has represented several national telecommunications companies in the deployment of their networks in Ohio, mechanic's lien matters, and litigation. He has represented numerous other local and national property owners and developers regarding zoning and land use issues throughout Ohio. Mr. Ockner has written and lectured extensively on zoning, land use, eminent domain, administrative procedure, and related constitutional issues and business litigation issues. His business litigation practice includes business competition, trade secret, consumer protection, and commercial matters. He served as program chair for the civil litigation portion of the Cleveland Bar Association's Practice and Procedure Clinic for four years. In addition to being admitted to practice law in the state of Ohio, Mr. Ockner is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth and Eleventh circuits, the United States Tax Court, the United States District Court for the Northern and Southern districts of Ohio, and the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

ROBERT A. ZIMMERMAN is a partner in the law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP, and chair of the firm's public law practice group. As a civil trial and appellate lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, Mr. Zimmerman has litigated cases involving employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, unfair competition, defamation, breach of contract, real estate, landlord-tenant, zoning, land use, constitutional rights, elections, trusts, business, and commercial law. Complementing his litigation practice is his government relations practice. Mr. Zimmerman is a member of the Shaker Heights City Council. He served in the administrations of Governor Richard F. Celeste and attorneys general Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr. and Lee Fisher. He is licensed to practice in Ohio, as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern districts of Ohio, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Mr. Zimmerman is a member of the American, Ohio State, and Cleveland bar associations. He earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from The Ohio State University and his J.D. degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.