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Area of Emphasis
Blaine Lucas is a shareholder in the Public Sector Services and Business Services Groups of Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C. He represents both public and private clients on a variety of matters, with particular emphasis on land use and land development issues. Mr. Lucas is solicitor for several boroughs, townships, municipal authorities and zoning hearing boards, and also has served as special counsel to several municipalities on zoning, zoning enforcement, transportation, economic development and local taxation issues. He also represents energy industry clients on a variety of local land use, noise ordinance and road bonding issues.
In his capacity as a municipal solicitor, Mr. Lucas has been involved on an almost daily basis with a variety of financing and land use issues related to the development of a major regional mall in the Pittsburgh area. These include matters such as Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act abatement programs, creation of a transportation development district, implementation of a tax increment financing district, creation of a neighborhood improvement district, assessment of the viability of transportation impact fees, negotiation and drafting of complex agreements with the developer regarding a variety of financing and land use matters, creation of zoning overlay districts, drafting and implementation of municipal liquor license transfer ordinances and a variety of activities related to the processing of subdivision and land development plans for this large commercial project.
Some of Mr. Lucas’ other notable projects have included successfully representing a commercial developer in a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court case dealing with the extension of non-conforming uses, obtaining conditional use and special exception approvals for gas wells and associated facilities, obtaining a jury verdict in favor of a property owner in a Federal Civil Rights First Amendment retaliation case, obtaining a favorable decision from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court permitting the construction of a residential high-rise, litigating light rail construction claims, developing model procurement documents, drafting solid waste and recycling contracts for a municipal authority, litigating rail crossing issues before the Public Utility Commission, developing bid documents for demolition and environmental remediation of former steel plants, successfully litigating a rare “quo warranto" action with respect to membership on a municipal authority, and litigating cutting edge issues concerning the power of local governments to regulate hazardous waste operations and taxing powers of local municipalities.
Background
Mr. Lucas received his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh’s Johnstown campus in 1978, and graduated cum laude from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1981, where he served on the Virginia Journal of Natural Resources Law.
Memberships and Affiliations
Mr. Lucas is president of the Pennsylvania Borough Solicitor’s Association and past-chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Municipal and School Solicitor’s Section. Mr. Lucas presently is an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he teaches Land Use Law. He served on the advisory committee for 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania (10,000 Friends) with respect to implementation of Pennsylvania’s “growing greener" legislation. He also participated in 10,000 Friends’ instructional programs for local government officials on multi-municipal planning. He has also served as an instructor for the Local Government Academy’s Newly Elected Officials Course.
Mr. Lucas was a long-time member and former chairman of the board of directors of Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, which owns and operates public radio station WYEP-FM. He presently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Mt. Lebanon Partnership, a non-profit economic development corporation. He also was appointed to and serves as chairman of the Mt. Lebanon Economic Development Council, which advises the Mt. Lebanon Commission on economic development issues.
Mr. Lucas has been listed in the Land Use and Zoning, and Municipal Sections of The Best Lawyers in America®since 2007. He has also been recognized as one of Pennsylvania’s top lawyers since 2006, according to an annual survey published in Philadelphia magazine.
Publications/Presentations
Over the past decade, Mr. Lucas has spoken and written frequently on numerous municipal law issues for the benefit of the Bar Association, as well as other public and private organizations, with a particular emphasis on land use matters.
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