Land Use & Economic Development

Ancel Glink will help you achieve your community and development vision.

Ancel Glink provides comprehensive legal services to public and private sector clients for zoning, planning, and economic development matters. Our expert guidance helps shape and navigate regulatory systems and policy initiatives, ensuring efficient and effective results.

Ancel Glink has experience in all areas of land use and development, from annexation to zoning, and everything in between. Our attorneys regularly advise local governments, property owners, and developers on economic development, tax increment financing, real estate, construction, environmental, green energy, and telecommunications matters. Whether modernizing a zoning code or opening pathways for new development, our land use team can put your vision into action.

The following are a few examples of our land use services and recent projects:

Comprehensive rewrite of numerous zoning, subdivision, unified development, and form-based codes.

Negotiate public/private agreements for sale and development of land in a TIF district.

Securing zoning approval for emerging technologies, including data centers and renewable energy facilities.

Successful defense of municipalities in annexation and zoning challenges.
Serve as lead environmental counsel on large-scale federal Superfund remediation cases, including a 60-acre municipal landfill site.
Innovative strategies to reduce costs of environmental remediation and compliance.

Advise municipalities, negotiate with developers and prepare zoning ordinances and development agreements for creation of wind solar energy projects

Advise land owners on the lease of property for the development of wind and solar energy projects

Negotiate dozens of cellular ground leases and counsel municipalities on the related zoning issues

Ancel Glink attorneys have written books, articles, and chapters on a wide variety of land use and economic development topics.

Zoning & Land Use

Ancel Glink’s representation in land use matters spans the state and involves the full range of residential, commercial, and industrial development and redevelopment. In addition to the daily zoning and land use services we provide to our local government clients, the firm serves as special counsel for communities in complex annexation and development negotiations, updating or rewriting zoning, subdivision and other land use regulations, and establishing procedures for zoning petitions and hearings. Ancel Glink also conducts workshops and training sessions for planning and zoning staff and advisory boards.

The following are just a few examples of the zoning and land use services we provide:

Attend plan commission and ZBA hearings on behalf of municipal and developer clients.

Review development applications and analyze compliance with development codes.

Draft rules of procedure for zoning hearings.

Provide training to plan commission and zoning board members.

Draft new zoning regulations to classify a large scale planned unit development with appropriate regulations and negotiated planned unit development agreement.

Represented a community in annexing and zoning property for agritourism, including negotiating future uses for the property.

Negotiate an annexation agreement with property owners for gravel mining and subsequent redevelopment of property for residential and commercial uses.

Draft and negotiate boundary and planning agreements for neighboring municipalities.

Counsel a city in multi-phase disconnection and annexation process to bring large residential and commercial area within city’s jurisdiction.

Successful application on behalf of a private client for the rezoning of 230 acres of property to an industrial use with 60 year land use plan.

Negotiate an intergovernmental agreement, annexation agreement, incentives, and various other agreements to annex and approve zoning and other land use entitlements for the redevelopment of a former office complex to a logistics campus.

Economic Development

Ancel Glink counsels clients in all aspects of public/private partnerships, including the provision of public assistance for development or redevelopment projects. We have experience drafting and negotiating redevelopment agreements covering all types of projects, including downtown redevelopments, mixed-use developments, transit-oriented developments, commercial and industrial parks, and residential planned developments, and Enterprise Zones.

Our TIF services run the gamut, from the creation and administration of TIF districts, providing strategic guidance on redevelopment opportunities, and counseling communities on TIF winddown matters. Depending on the nature of the development and improvements to be supported with public assistance, a special service area or business development district may be more appropriate. We have worked with communities to more equitably distribute the true cost of public improvements without saddling residents with excessive property tax burdens. Business districts are being recognized as an effective economic development tool for commercial developments which result in less intergovernmental tension. Regardless of which tool that best fits your plan, our expertise will ensure all of the procedural and substantive requirements are satisfied so that your goals can be accomplished.

We also assist with a wide array of debt-issuance transactions, ranging from straightforward general obligation bonds to financings secured by TIF districts, special service areas, special assessments, and business development districts. Our attorneys also advise public and private clients regarding the use of tax abatements and sales tax rebates, including the important distinctions between home rule and non-home rule communities, and have been involved in the following projects recently:

Assist in the establishment of TIF districts, special service areas, and business development and redevelopment districts.

Draft economic development incentive policies, applications, and agreements.

Creation of TIF district for office campus headquarters of an international corporation.

Create a Business Redevelopment District for a 600,000 sq. ft. retail center.

Negotiate a public/private agreement for sale and development of land in TIF District.

Assist with the creation of a public-private partnership to reclaim and plan uses of 100 year old quarry, including pioneering land-use regulations on reclamation, master plan for properties, and coordination of property transfers and uses.

Defend municipality against lawsuit seeking to invalidate TIF district.

Environmental & Alternative Energy

Ancel Glink provides legal expertise to guide clients through the complex environmental laws and regulations that a project may encounter. Our attorneys focus on all areas of environmental law, from due diligence to large-scale Superfund remediation. We also routinely partner with engineering consultants to provide streamlined, multidisciplinary legal advice. Ancel Glink’s tailored environmental practice offers an efficient and cost-effective alternative to the high-cost, and often outdated, approach offered by some firms. The environmental practice also provides support to our real estate practice to assist our clients in protecting their investments.

In addition, our attorneys have participated in Section 39.2 landfill siting hearings in a variety of roles, including as the hearing officer and staff attorney advising the corporate authorities. We are familiar with both the political, legal and scientific hurdles that must be navigated to reach a sound local siting decision.

Recently, our environmental group attorneys have been involved in the following projects:

Local siting review for new and expanded regional landfills.

Serve as lead environmental counsel on large-scale federal Superfund remediation cases, including a 60-acre municipal landfill site.

Management of IEPA brownfield remediation and leaking underground storage tank projects

17 acre remediation of former landfill and asphalt plant into recreation and municipal center.

Develop innovative strategies to reduce costs of environmental remediation and compliance.

Ensuring CERCLA due diligence compliance, including brownfield properties.

Devise RCRA strategies for compelling properties to voluntarily clean up past contamination.

Appeal from IEPA decision on reimbursement of remediation expenses from LUST Fund

Amending boundaries of Enterprise Zones for energy project equipment and access

Negotiating with developers regarding terms, conditions, tax incentives, and fees for both EZ and non-EZ energy projects

Preparing ordinances and negotiating leases and development agreements for alternative energy projects

Land Use Litigation

From procedural challenges to constitutional claims, Ancel Glink attorneys have decades of experience with zoning and land use litigation. As counsel to numerous local governments and zoning boards, our attorneys have developed a unique and valuable perspective on the zoning process which guides our legal strategy. For both public bodies and private companies, Ancel Glink provides a distinct advantage in any land use dispute. Our attorneys have extensive experience in complex eminent domain litigation for our governmental entities, including service as Special Assistant States Attorneys for counties negotiating road project condemnations.

The following are just a few examples of our litigation experience:

Eminent domain litigation for major downtown redevelopment project.

Successful defense against substantive and procedural due process claims challenging a zoning decision.

Successful defense against a takings claim challenging a municipal zoning decision.

Successful prosecution and defense of municipal and private foreclosure actions.

Prosecute demolition cases involving blighted commercial and residential properties.

Successful defense of municipality in an action by developer seeking to overturn denial of special use permit application.

Successful defense of impact fee agreements for park districts.

Represent a school district in complex litigation arising from a TIF redevelopment agreement, resulting in a $20 million settlement for the school district.

Negotiate economic development agreements for TIF projects throughout the state. Represent industrial land owner in multi-million dollar eminent domain action by IDOT for expansion of interstate highway.

Negotiate settlements of land use lawsuits.

Real Estate

We provide the full range of real estate services to our clients. From negotiating purchase and sale agreements, easement agreements, and development agreements, to navigating title and survey review and clearance, to efficiently getting our clients through closing and securing property tax exemptions, we provide practical and strategic advice every step of the way. We have extensive experience with residential, commercial, mixed use, and industrial properties, and our real estate work touches nearly every industry, including renewable energy, data centers, manufacturing, hospitality, gaming, and more.

The following are just a few examples of our recent real estate experience:

Negotiate and close the acquisition of a commercial building for adaptive reuse as a public safety campus.
Negotiate long-term, beneficial solar leases on behalf of landowners.
Negotiate the acquisition of multiple data center sites and engage with regulatory agencies to secure utility service.
Negotiate and close the acquisition of a new public works facility for a municipal client.
Assist with acquiring, marketing, and selling downtown property to a developer for a mixed-use development including retail, residential, and a 300+ space public parking garage.
Negotiated the sale and redevelopment of property for a new downtown restaurant development.

Construction

Ancel Glink has the background, experience, and expertise to help you manage the risks inherent in your construction project and to help pave your way to final completion. Our unmatched experience in the public sector means that we have negotiated hundreds of contracts with design professionals, contributed to the conditions set forth in hundreds of bid packages, and helped to resolve a substantial number of disputes through litigation, arbitration, mediation and negotiation. We have lawyers who have worked in construction, know how to read construction drawings, are familiar with how the job site functions, and know how to steer the contract negotiations and any litigation in your favor. We have represented owners, architects, engineers, contractors, and subcontractors in all of the delivery methods, including design/build, and we have substantial experience in handling mechanics’ lien issues and dealing with sureties.

Ancel Glink attorneys have authored chapters on Construction Law in the Municipal Law treatise and School Law treatise published by the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education. We are familiar with the most popular families of documents (e.g., AIA, EJCDC) and we have written model contracts to assist our clients in managing smaller projects at minimal expense and delay.

We can help you from concept to final completion, including providing the following services:

Assisting clients in the Qualifications Based Selection process for design professionals.

Advising clients on contract terms that save you money now and down the road.

Drafting and editing general and supplementary conditions to construction contracts.

Advising clients on the public bid process and compliance with the Prevailing Wage Act.

Representing clients in pursuing or defending construction-related claims.

Telecommunications

Ancel Glink offers advocacy, consulting, and drafting services for telecommunications law.
We understand the demands of cellular companies and the pitfalls that can arise when leases or the rental rights are sold or assigned. We can also assist communities through the treacherous landscape of federal laws regulating local authority to zone both large and small cellular antennas.

We are also familiar with the Federal and State laws that apply to cable and video services, and assist our clients in ensuring that their ordinances up-to-date so they are ready for when a new provider offers competition to their incumbent cable operator.

The explosion of data centers and broadband internet has resulted in greater demand for telecommunications infrastructure to be placed under and across roads and highways. Our attorneys have experience regulating utilities and negotiating license agreement which balance the needs of the developer with the heath, safety and welfare of the community.

One area of law that has received a lot of attention following the change in cable franchising rules is right-of-way management. Making sure your right-of-way ordinance is up to date is an important step in protecting the aesthetics and welfare of your community.

Some examples of our telecommunications projects include:

Assist in drafting model cable/video regulatory ordinances for the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.

Assist in drafting a model cable franchise agreement for the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.

Draft and negotiate numerous cellular tower leases and other agreements.

Draft zoning regulations and counsel plan commissions on applications related to macro and small-scale cellular facilities.

Negotiate franchise and license agreements with fiber telecommunications companies.

Our Recent Case Studies

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