Jones Foster Expands Land Use & Governmental Team with Attorney and Certified Planner Peter J. Henn

Jones Foster, a full-service commercial and private client law firm with offices in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, and Jupiter, is pleased to announce that attorney Peter J. Henn has joined the firm’s Land Use & Governmental Practice Group based in its West Palm Beach office.

"Peter’s experience as a developer, certified planner, and academician brings a truly unique skill set to our team," says Thomas J. Baird, a Florida Bar Board Certified City, County, and Local Government attorney and shareholder who co-chairs Jones Foster’s Land Use & Governmental practice group along with shareholder Alan J. Ciklin. "As a certified planner, Peter will contribute to the firm’s work in crafting land development codes and enhancing the firm’s representation of municipalities. His experience as a longtime developer will bring valuable insight and complement the firm’s robust representation of property owners provided by Alan Ciklin."

Peter Henn is a certified Professional Planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) who has more than 30 years of experience in land use and zoning law, local government relations, urban planning and design, and real estate development in Florida and throughout the U.S. His extensive experience in land use and zoning includes serving as counsel to major developers and investment groups in the acquisition, planning, development, financing, government relations, and disposition of high-end residential and commercial properties.

As the former president/CEO of a publicly-traded real estate development and construction company, Peter led project teams in designing, developing and planning numerous hotels, condominium towers, and master-planned golf course communities. He also has worked closely with local governments and led the approval of many commercial and residential redevelopment projects, including ultra-luxury oceanfront hotels, condominiums, and multi-family residential communities in several states, including significant projects throughout South Florida where he holds a real estate broker license.

Peter has served on several local government advisory boards addressing planning, zoning, and affordable housing issues, including rewriting portions of the zoning code for the City of Fort Lauderdale and serving as chair of the Fort Lauderdale Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. He also was an active member of the Palm Beach County Citizens Task Force’s Zoning Advisory Committee when the county first prepared its Unified Land Development Code (ULDC). Peter recently assisted the Village of Palm Springs Village Council and Planning & Zoning Board on community visioning prior to zoning code reform. Additionally, Peter has assisted the Town of Hillsborough, North Carolina in preparing a Vested Rights and Development Agreement Ordinance before obtaining land use entitlements for a 333-acre master-planned community.

Peter’s professional experience in land planning includes employment as a faculty member at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in the Department of Urban & Regional Planning where he teaches urban planning, urban design, community development, site planning, and land use and zoning law. He was previously an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University where he taught Land Use Regulations to graduate students.

About Jones Foster's Land Use & Governmental Practice Group

After more than a century, Jones Foster continues to remain at the forefront of South Florida’s urban development. Its Land Use and Governmental team includes AICP-certified planners and city attorneys who work with municipalities, agencies, landowners, developers, and planners to provide invaluable counsel through all stages of the government approvals process, often weighing land development and municipal issues with public and commercial interests. The firm’s litigators prosecute and defend land use, eminent domain, and property rights cases on behalf of developers, property owners, and governmental agencies.

The firm has played an integral role in the development of Palm Beach County through representation as city attorneys of the towns of Palm Beach, Jupiter, Jupiter Island, Lake Park, Gulfstream, and the Village of Tequesta, as well as local planning and zoning boards and community redevelopment agencies, all of which have contributed to managing the growth and infrastructure of many of its cities and towns.

The firm’s history with Palm Beach County government includes attorneys who previously served as county and assistant county attorneys as well as private counsel in specialized areas such as condemnation law. It has allowed the firm to leverage decades of institutional knowledge to resolve the most complex land use matters and become counsel of record in cutting-edge cases impacting Florida law.