Land Use
Contact: Kari L. Olson
Murtha Cullina Land Use attorneys offer a broad range of services. We guide our clients through land development processes and contract negotiation and advise them on matters ranging from local land use law to historic preservation and eminent domain. Our attorneys also conduct seminars and workshops for clients and land use commissioners through several local, regional and state agencies.
Murtha Cullina LLP attorneys represent a broad range of clients in all aspects of land use, including: zoning, subdivision, wetlands, water and sewer utilities, and public health issues. Our clients include commercial and residential developers, private landowners, conservation organizations, municipalities, and regional utility and health officials and agencies, among others. The diversity of this representation enhances our ability to represent each group. For our clients, our experience translates into comprehensive, cost effective, and proactive representation and management of land use issues.
We counsel our clients in connection with the acquisition, development, financing, and sale of real estate located in Massachusetts and Connecticut. We strategically guide the land development process beginning with an examination of land use considerations, including legal and practical evaluations and due diligence. We assist in the process of negotiating contracts for project design and construction and in closing the transactions leading to completed projects.
The firm has successfully represented numerous landowners, builders, and developers in planning, preparing and processing land use applications before all levels of government and through all phases of development, including, when necessary, successful administrative appeals. Murtha Cullina LLP attorneys are experienced in obtaining cost-effective and timely issuance of permits and approvals that implement our clients development vision. Projects in which we have played an active role include major residential and commercial developments and subdivisions, shopping centers, redevelopment projects, and affordable housing projects.
We also represent conservation organizations and citizen groups in connection with development proposals. We participate in community interaction and outreach for high profile and controversial projects.
Our municipal clients look to us for counsel and advice concerning all aspects of local land use law. The firm provides assistance with the drafting and enforcement of land use ordinances, regulations and bylaws; and with the review of, and decision-making on, land use applications. We also advise our municipal clients concerning historic preservation and eminent domain.
We have acted as general or special counsel to more than 50 municipalities in various capacities. We have also represented numerous public water and sewer authorities and regional health districts. Our lawyers have served as elected officials at various levels of municipal government. Our experience on behalf of our municipal clients has brought us into every forum from local commissions to the Massachusetts and Connecticut Supreme Court.
Given the potentially complex issues involved in land use and development, we urge clients to obtain our advice and counsel at the earliest stage possible, believing that early and effective counseling can avoid adverse agency decisions and costly litigation. When litigation is unavoidable, however, we have the experience to try these cases to a successful conclusion in federal and state court.
Our attorneys are actively involved with the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Homebuilders Association, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and the Connecticut Developers Council. Murtha Cullina LLP attorneys conduct seminars and workshops for our clients and for land use commissioners in Connecticut and in Massachusetts through the Connecticut Bar Association, the Connecticut Association of Zoning Enforcement Officials, the Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, and other regional agencies and councils. Several of our lawyers have advanced degrees in science and engineering. One of our attorneys is the author of a widely used procedural guide for Connecticut land use agencies, "What's Legally Required" and the principal co-author of a nationally distributed treatise on municipal and state land use liability, WestGroup's State and Local Government Land Use Liability.
- Murtha Cullina Ranked as a “Best Law Firm” in 30 Categories by the 2023 Edition of U.S. News Best Lawyers
- Dan Sorger Appointed as an Alternate Member of the Guilford Conservation Commission
- January 26, 2022 - Joseph D. Szerejko Appointed Independent Consumer Advocate for MDC
- October 19, 2021 - Nicholas W. Vitti Jr. Secures Land Use Approval Before Stamford Zoning Board
- August 17, 2018 - Joseph D. Szerejko Joins Litigation Department
- January 31, 2017 - Murtha Cullina LLP Wins Zoning Appeal for City of New Haven
- CT DEEP Renews Construction Permit Through Sept. 30, 2013
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that Landowner’s Lawsuit is Not Barred by SLAPP Statute
- SJC Invalidates Forced Waiver of Wetlands Protection Act Deadlines
- Federal Court Blocks Implementation of NLRB's New Representation Case Rules Due to Lack of a Quorum
- Kathleen E. Connolly, Re-Elected Vice President of Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions
- A.L. Prime Wins Appeal at old RMV Location
- The Attorney General Finalizes Emergency Regulations and Issues Guidance Interpreting the New Open Meeting Law
- Neighbors appeal failed at 1021 Main Street.
- Rezoning of church land wins approval
- The New Open Meeting Law, July/August 2010
- Financial Incentive for Conservation Easements, May/June 2010
- Quorum, Quantum of Vote, and Other Procedural Quandaries for Conservation Commissions, March/April 2010
- Kathleen Connolly to Present Environmental Seminars
- Conservation Commissions' Authority to Collect Fees and Spend Funds, Sept/Oct 2009
- Loni S. Gardner and Derek T. Werner Elected to the Executive Committee of the CBA Young Lawyers Section
- Security - If Your Commission Uses it - Use it Right, July/August 2009
- Local Wetlands Bylaws are Not Intended to Supersede the Wetlands Protection Act, but to Provide Additional Local Protections, May/June 2009
- Kathleen E. Connolly of Murtha Cullina LLP Selected to the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Technical Steering Committee
- Joseph R. Tarby, III and Kari L. Olson Named as Co-Chairs of Murtha Cullina LLP's Land Use Group
- Wilson Turbo Power Gets OK to Relocate
- Kari Olson to Present "Tax Incentives for Economic Development” at the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities 2022 Convention
- June 21, 2022 - Nicholas Vitti Spoke at the Connecticut Certified Public Accountant's Not-for-Profit Organizations Conference
- November 30, 2021 - Kari Olson and Joe Szerejko Presenting “Update on Affordable Housing & Land Use Legislation” at the Annual CCM Convention.
- November 14, 2018 - Catherine Cuggino Speaking at the Brass Tacks Land Use Seminar
- MACC Annual Environmental Conference: Creative Approaches to Financing Your Commission
- Record Keeping for Land Trusts
- Advanced Environmental Law
- Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Association of Wetland Scientists "Wetlands: Impaired to Pristine"
Contact: Kari L. Olson
Murtha Cullina Land Use attorneys offer a broad range of services. We guide our clients through land development processes and contract negotiation and advise them on matters ranging from local land use law to historic preservation and eminent domain. Our attorneys also conduct seminars and workshops for clients and land use commissioners through several local, regional and state agencies.
Murtha Cullina LLP attorneys represent a broad range of clients in all aspects of land use, including: zoning, subdivision, wetlands, water and sewer utilities, and public health issues. Our clients include commercial and residential developers, private landowners, conservation organizations, municipalities, and regional utility and health officials and agencies, among others. The diversity of this representation enhances our ability to represent each group. For our clients, our experience translates into comprehensive, cost effective, and proactive representation and management of land use issues.
We counsel our clients in connection with the acquisition, development, financing, and sale of real estate located in Massachusetts and Connecticut. We strategically guide the land development process beginning with an examination of land use considerations, including legal and practical evaluations and due diligence. We assist in the process of negotiating contracts for project design and construction and in closing the transactions leading to completed projects.
The firm has successfully represented numerous landowners, builders, and developers in planning, preparing and processing land use applications before all levels of government and through all phases of development, including, when necessary, successful administrative appeals. Murtha Cullina LLP attorneys are experienced in obtaining cost-effective and timely issuance of permits and approvals that implement our clients development vision. Projects in which we have played an active role include major residential and commercial developments and subdivisions, shopping centers, redevelopment projects, and affordable housing projects.
We also represent conservation organizations and citizen groups in connection with development proposals. We participate in community interaction and outreach for high profile and controversial projects.
Our municipal clients look to us for counsel and advice concerning all aspects of local land use law. The firm provides assistance with the drafting and enforcement of land use ordinances, regulations and bylaws; and with the review of, and decision-making on, land use applications. We also advise our municipal clients concerning historic preservation and eminent domain.
We have acted as general or special counsel to more than 50 municipalities in various capacities. We have also represented numerous public water and sewer authorities and regional health districts. Our lawyers have served as elected officials at various levels of municipal government. Our experience on behalf of our municipal clients has brought us into every forum from local commissions to the Massachusetts and Connecticut Supreme Court.
Given the potentially complex issues involved in land use and development, we urge clients to obtain our advice and counsel at the earliest stage possible, believing that early and effective counseling can avoid adverse agency decisions and costly litigation. When litigation is unavoidable, however, we have the experience to try these cases to a successful conclusion in federal and state court.
Our attorneys are actively involved with the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Homebuilders Association, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and the Connecticut Developers Council. Murtha Cullina LLP attorneys conduct seminars and workshops for our clients and for land use commissioners in Connecticut and in Massachusetts through the Connecticut Bar Association, the Connecticut Association of Zoning Enforcement Officials, the Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, and other regional agencies and councils. Several of our lawyers have advanced degrees in science and engineering. One of our attorneys is the author of a widely used procedural guide for Connecticut land use agencies, "What's Legally Required" and the principal co-author of a nationally distributed treatise on municipal and state land use liability, WestGroup's State and Local Government Land Use Liability.
- Murtha Cullina Ranked as a “Best Law Firm” in 30 Categories by the 2023 Edition of U.S. News Best Lawyers
- Dan Sorger Appointed as an Alternate Member of the Guilford Conservation Commission
- January 26, 2022 - Joseph D. Szerejko Appointed Independent Consumer Advocate for MDC
- October 19, 2021 - Nicholas W. Vitti Jr. Secures Land Use Approval Before Stamford Zoning Board
- August 17, 2018 - Joseph D. Szerejko Joins Litigation Department
- January 31, 2017 - Murtha Cullina LLP Wins Zoning Appeal for City of New Haven
- CT DEEP Renews Construction Permit Through Sept. 30, 2013
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that Landowner’s Lawsuit is Not Barred by SLAPP Statute
- SJC Invalidates Forced Waiver of Wetlands Protection Act Deadlines
- Federal Court Blocks Implementation of NLRB's New Representation Case Rules Due to Lack of a Quorum
- Kathleen E. Connolly, Re-Elected Vice President of Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions
- A.L. Prime Wins Appeal at old RMV Location
- The Attorney General Finalizes Emergency Regulations and Issues Guidance Interpreting the New Open Meeting Law
- Neighbors appeal failed at 1021 Main Street.
- Rezoning of church land wins approval
- The New Open Meeting Law, July/August 2010
- Financial Incentive for Conservation Easements, May/June 2010
- Quorum, Quantum of Vote, and Other Procedural Quandaries for Conservation Commissions, March/April 2010
- Kathleen Connolly to Present Environmental Seminars
- Conservation Commissions' Authority to Collect Fees and Spend Funds, Sept/Oct 2009
- Loni S. Gardner and Derek T. Werner Elected to the Executive Committee of the CBA Young Lawyers Section
- Security - If Your Commission Uses it - Use it Right, July/August 2009
- Local Wetlands Bylaws are Not Intended to Supersede the Wetlands Protection Act, but to Provide Additional Local Protections, May/June 2009
- Kathleen E. Connolly of Murtha Cullina LLP Selected to the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Technical Steering Committee
- Joseph R. Tarby, III and Kari L. Olson Named as Co-Chairs of Murtha Cullina LLP's Land Use Group
- Wilson Turbo Power Gets OK to Relocate
- Kari Olson to Present "Tax Incentives for Economic Development” at the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities 2022 Convention
- June 21, 2022 - Nicholas Vitti Spoke at the Connecticut Certified Public Accountant's Not-for-Profit Organizations Conference
- November 30, 2021 - Kari Olson and Joe Szerejko Presenting “Update on Affordable Housing & Land Use Legislation” at the Annual CCM Convention.
- November 14, 2018 - Catherine Cuggino Speaking at the Brass Tacks Land Use Seminar
- MACC Annual Environmental Conference: Creative Approaches to Financing Your Commission
- Record Keeping for Land Trusts
- Advanced Environmental Law
- Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Association of Wetland Scientists "Wetlands: Impaired to Pristine"