Municipal Law

Clark Wilson has extensive experience working with local government and related entities, both directly and through our work with developers, builders, contractors and landowners.

We maintain positive working relationships with planning staff and other administrative officials throughout the Greater Vancouver Regional District and major centres in the Province, and with Provincial regulators and other authorities. Our experience with land use regulation and local governance matters includes:

• Assisting landowners and developers with land assembly, subdivision and servicing, procuring municipal and regulatory approvals, official community plan amendments, re-zoning, development permits, development variance permits, phased development agreements, subdivision approvals, easements and rights-of-way.
• Advising on a wide range of related land use and development issues at the provincial, regional district and local government level, including regional growth management, transit oriented development, infrastructure financing, greenhouse gas compliance, riparian areas regulation, expropriation, local government boundary alteration, geotechnical hazards, contaminated sites, affordable housing and aboriginal issues.
• Assisting landowners in their dealings with other authorities involved in land use issues, including the Agricultural Land Commission, TransLink, the Provincial Approving Officer, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Inspector of Municipalities.
• Assisting private interests, lenders and local governments with public-private partnership ventures, beginning with the proposal process, deal negotiation and structuring, and continuing through project completion and operation, and well as project dissolution or buy-back.
• Advising on, and, as appropriate, litigating, the validity and application of local government by-laws, and businesses impacted by local government and related regulations in their operations.
• Negotiating changes to Provincial legislation and regulations, and Provincial approvals.
• Assisting in responding to proposed and actual expropriations, including by presenting compensation claims as appropriate.
• Acting for public sector licensees in complex technology projects.
• Advising on construction projects, tendering, and requests for proposals.

Please feel free to contact any member of our group for more information about the services we offer.