Commercial Real Estate Capability

Land Use & Zoning

Land use and zoning approvals are often a prerequisite to development, acquisition, or financing in commercial real estate transactions. The entitlement process — whether rezoning, variance, special use, or planned development — involves local regulatory proceedings that require coordination with the broader transaction timeline.

The firm advises developers, owners, and acquirers on land use and zoning matters in connection with development and acquisition transactions in Illinois.

Representation Includes

  • Zoning analysis and entitlement strategy in connection with acquisitions and development
  • Rezoning petitions and annexation proceedings
  • Variance and special use permit applications
  • Planned unit development documentation
  • Development agreements with municipalities
  • Subdivision platting and lot consolidation
  • Easements and restrictive covenant review in connection with entitlement
  • Municipal and regulatory coordination in development transactions

Transaction Considerations

Land use approvals often run on regulatory timelines that do not align with transaction timelines, requiring careful coordination between the entitlement process and the acquisition or financing schedule. The firm advises on the entitlement strategy and documentation and coordinates with transaction counsel and development teams to manage the regulatory process within the constraints of the broader transaction timeline.

Issues That Recur in Land Use Matters

  • Entitlement timing. Approvals run on regulatory timelines that must be reconciled with acquisition and financing deadlines through diligence contingencies, closing conditions, and extension rights.
  • Rezoning, variances, and special use. The approval path — rezoning, special or conditional use permits, and variances — is mapped early, and the administrative record is developed to support the requested relief.
  • Development agreements and conditions. Negotiated conditions of approval, exactions, and impact fees are memorialized in development agreements and reviewed for their effect on project cost and feasibility.
  • Planned developments and site plans. Planned-unit-development and site-plan approvals, and the ordinances and recorded instruments they generate, govern how the property may be developed and used.
  • Easements and covenants. Access, utility, and shared-facility easements and restrictive covenants tied to the entitlement are reviewed and documented in connection with the approval.
  • Subdivision and platting. Plat approval, lot consolidation, and dedication requirements are coordinated with the entitlement process and the transaction schedule.

Contact Snow LLP

To discuss a commercial real estate matter, contact Snow LLP directly.

Contact Snow LLP