Patrick W. Krechowski

Land Use & Zoning 

• Served as court-appointed Receiver for failing 250+ unit condominium association. Matter involved city code compliance resolutions, collections, lien foreclosures, unit and building sales, construction permitting, property management disputes, various litigation against the defunct association, and creating viable association board for court-approved completion of receivership.
• Representation of international e-commerce company seeking land use changes and exceptions throughout Florida for development and operation of extensive “last-mile” distribution facility network. Service offerings included site due diligence, land development code interpretations and proposed changes, Planned Unit Development and related use variances, coordination and consensus with local government staff and elected officials, economic development and targeting of site locations and available real estate matching client needs.
• Represented an out-of-state developer looking to acquire multiple parcels along Florida’s major interstate interchanges for development of large retail operations with a focus on high visibility and trip generation. Consultation services included identifying available and viable parcels, willingness of local governments to work with developer, due diligence, purchase and sale contract negotiation and review, lender contract generation and review, construction contract generation and review and seeking local government approvals.  Services also included introducing client concepts and product to state agencies and the Governor’s office.
• Obtained federal court ruling that City of Jacksonville’s ban on placement and operation of charitable donation bins is unconstitutional. Federal litigation involved emergency injunctive relief prohibiting enforcement of City’s legislative prohibition and bolstered client’s argument that its charitable operations are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
• Obtained state coastal armoring permit for St. Johns County condominium association that included 8 mid-rise buildings and private beach club.  Two plus year work included having the coastal property included in Florida Governor’s post Hurricane Matthew Emergency Order and authorization for installation of a 2,000+ feet rigid coastal armoring structure (seawall).
• Obtained appellate ruling that local government’s determination that a non-conforming use was abandoned by private property owner.  Two plus year litigation spanned quasi-judicial hearings, circuit court appeal, and argument before the First District Court of Appeal.
• Obtained appellate ruling that a local government planning board’s quasi-judicial decision to deny a special exception was proper.  Three plus year litigation involved claims of lack of competent substantial evidence, third-party standing, taking of property rights, Bert Harris Act claims (ancillary to main case), and failure to provide due process.  Ultimately, the First District Court of Appeal upheld the planning board’s quasi-judicial decision and determined that citizen-based testimony does constitute competent substantial evidence.

Public Policy & Government Relations

• Represented multi-media company in creation of public-private partnerships for messaging on traffic signal infrastructure with local governments throughout Northeast Florida.
• Represented one of Florida’s largest concrete recycling companies in obtaining a Certificate of Necessity for a new recycling operation in Jacksonville, Florida.
• Providing legal consulting and guidance to the City of West Palm Beach in a long-standing dispute over riparian rights and public access at one of the City’s largest public marinas.  At issue were complicated sovereign submerged land, condemnation, lease, covenants & restrictions, and political factors that resulted in the City facing a multi-million dollar demand and potential liability.

 Environmental 

• Assisting a national building materials manufacturer with multiple agency permit issues to ensure ongoing compliance and uninterrupted operation of the subject plant. The matter also involved the avoidance of any significant compliance and/or penalty issues with the regulating agencies.
• Ensured a purchaser of property with known contamination was adequately protected in a complicated Purchase & Sale Agreement to include appropriate due diligence allowances and guidance on the likely limitations and conditions that would be associated with formal agency “closure” of the remediation areas.
• Regularly assisting in due diligence review of commercial properties as part of a multi-billion dollar credit union’s underwriting consideration and evaluation of commercial real estate loans. Work includes review of property records and history, review of environmental site assessment reports, advice on impacts to loan underwriting and steps needed to ensure lender liability and bona fide purchaser liability protections.
• Obtained brownfields designation and economic incentives for redevelopment of contaminated property pursuant to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Brownfields Redevelopment Act. Incentives included sales tax rebates, job creation tax credits and remediation cost incentives totaling approximately $500,000.
• Defended private property owner before state and local agencies over allegations of unpermitted impacts to protected species and habitat.  Matter involved installation of a permitted dune walkover structure on private property. Settlement involved acknowledgement that property owner had acted appropriately and as authorized and that allegations of impacts to protected species and habitat were unsupported.
• On behalf of private coastal land-owners, worked with a county government, state and federal agencies to developed and implemented a county-wide Habitat Conservation Plan for marine turtles and their habitat that took into account the presence of and need for protection from frequent coastal storm events and historic impacts from major hurricane landfalls.