Land Use

Charles A. Budnick, PLS has over 43 years of experience as a licensed Land Surveyor. Mr. Budnick has over 30 years of experience as an Expert Witness and Consultant to forensic consultants and the legal profession. His services have been requested by both the public and private sector.

Area of Expertise:

Accident Site Mapping / Issues (Trip & Fall, etc.) Land Mapping Land Surveying Site Assessment Site Planning Boundary Disputes Adverse Possession Right of Way and Easement Disputes Right of Way Taking Issues

Construction Lay-Out Claims Earthwork Volume Issues Drainage Issues Wetland Encroachment & Flood Plain Filling Issues Land Development Issues Septic Systems Soils Wetlands

Craig Cherney, Esq. is a Private Equity and Pooled Investment Fund Manager familiar with Standards of Care and Fiduciary Duties between investors and the real estate sponsor or developer handling the syndicated funds. He understands real estate business plans, budgets, reporting, disclosure duties, operating fees, management fees, brokerage commissions, finder's fees and reasonableness of third party vendor payments to real estate professionals. Mr. Cherney's other expertise includes land acquisition, pre-acquisition due diligence, valuation, procuring entitlements, zoning, land development, master plan communities and disposition and sale of paper lots and finished lots to public home builders.

Craig Cherney has deep experience in acquisition and disposition of hundreds of millions of investment capital in residential land, master plan communities, commercial real estate development projects and entitlement and zone change opportunities throughout the United States. A Joint Venture expert between institutional capital, private investors and local real estate operators, he is able to conduct multiple financial models and sensitivity analysis showing present value and projected IRR rates of return and equity multiples that a real estate project should have delivered in the open market.

Mr. Cherney is a licensed attorney in 3 states (AZ, CA, NV), a licensed real estate broker (CA), and a Member of the Urban Land Institute Council: Residential Neighborhood Development Council.

Areas of Expertise:

Real Estate Valuation Commercial Real Estate Land Due Diligence Fiduciary Duty Standards of Care Real Estate Finance Real Estate Management

Real Estate Syndication Real Estate Acquisition Real Estate Entitlements Land Development Land Use Land Valuation Management Fees Commissions

Vincent A. Ettari, P.E., P.C. specializes in many fields of Civil, Structural, Site, Coastal, Safety & Environmental Engineering, including the Design & Analysis of:

Structures, Buildings, Houses, Dwellings Foundations, Footings, Elevators, Retaining Walls, Dams Development Plan & Plats for Sites, Properties, and Residences Underground & Subsurface Chamber / Chambers Scaffold, Scaffolds, Scaffolding Site Plans & Subdivisions: Industrial, Commercial, Residential Roads, Roadways, Ramps, Walks, & Man Hole Cover / Covers Sidewalks, Walkways, Paths & Pathways Lighting: Lamps, Lights, Lamp Poles, Light Levels Luminaries & Illumination (Specifications) Rock Cuts & Blasting (Topography, Specification) Soil Slopes / Samples / Mechanics / Geotechnical Engineers Sanitary Facilities, Septic Systems (Board of Health Septics Approval) BOHA / DEP Approvals Water, Drains, Drainage, Sewer & Sewage Lines & Mains Culvert / Culverts, Manholes (Man Holes) & Catchbasins / Catch Basins Inspection, Supervision, and Certification of Construction House Inspector & Inspections Road, Roadway, Walk & Sidewalk Premises Liability (e.g., Steep Slope) Walkway, Path, Ramp & Pathway Premise Liability (e.g., Steep Grade) Coefficient of Friction / Slip & Fall (Snowy & Icy Conditions) Vertical Discontinuity / Discontinuities / Trip & Falls Small Ports / Port, Marinas / Marina, Marine Dredging Levees, Jetties, Dolphins, Piers, Sea & Flood Walls

Wharves, Breakwaters, Bulkheads, Weirs, & Revetments Groins, Dikes and Waterfront Structures Drainage Basin Analysis, Rainfall, Floods & Flood Plain / Plains Flooding Controls & Control Devices Storm Water Runoff (10, 25, 50 & 100 Year Storms) Pressure & Pressures: Wind, Wave / Waves, Ice, Snow Rain Fall Run Off & Storm Water Pollution Treatment Excavation, Grading, Fills & Filling Operations (Swales, Berms, Silt Fence) Erosion Control, Sediment Barriers, Sedimentation / Catch Basins (Hay Bales) Pumps and Pump System Line & Main Slope, Dam, Levee, Jetty, Dolphin, Pier, Wharf & Breakwater Collapse Bulkhead, Weir, Revetment, Groin, Dike, Footing & Foundation Failures Failure of Fire Containment Wall, Elevator or Water Front Structure Tenement House Façade Collapses Code History of Existing Multiple / Multi-Family Dwelling / Building Application of Municipal Building, Fire & Property Maintenance Codes City, Town & Village Zoning, Planning, Steep Slopes & Grades, Wetland & Wetlands Ordinances Testimony at Board Meetings as a Design Forensics Engineer

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Dr. Evan McKenzie, JD, PhD, is an Expert Witness and Attorney who has represented Homeowner and Condominium Associations and Owners in complex litigation cases concerning the Operation of Community Associations, Land Use, Construction Defect, and Insurance Bad Faith among others. He teaches political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and also teaches the Law of Common Interest Communities in the LLM in Real Estate Program at The John Marshall Law School.

Dr. McKenzie has specialized knowledge in private governments set up by real estate developers to run common interest housing developments (CIDs), also known as "gated communities," "residential private governments," "homeowner associations," "condominium associations," "private communities," etc.

Having written about homeowner associations since 1985, Dr. McKenzie understands the "Micropolitics," the internal workings of homeowner associations as private governments, and the "Macropolitics," the relationship between homeowner associations and the larger community and society of which they are a part. His book, Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Governments, was published by Yale University Press and won the American Political Science Association’s award for “Best Book on Urban Politics” in 1995. His second book on this subject, Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government, was published by Urban Institute Press in 2011. Dr. McKenzie has become fairly well known for this body of work and has made numerous appearances in the media on shows including ABC’s 20-20, appeared on NPR nationally several times and often locally, and been quoted in all the major newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post,.USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, etc.)

Areas of Expertise:

• Takings
• Condemnation
• Operation of Community Associations
• Land Use
• Construction Defect
• Privatization
• Insurance Bad Faith
• Gated Communities - Entry control: gates, guards, traffic barriers, key cards, etc.
• Perimeter Security: Walls, fences, motion sensors, natural barriers such as water
• Internal surveillance: roving police patrols, video surveillance, alarm systems

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David Gilley, MPA, has over fifteen years of experience as a local government executive in the areas of Economic Development, Planning and Public Administration, and over fifteen years of experience in the Management, Development and Valuation of Billboards.

As an Expert Witness, Mr. Gilley provides detailed, professional, legal and technical opinions for attorneys, commercial clients, public utilities, and city and municipal government officials. He has supervised litigation of eminent domain and land use issues in 44 US states, 5 Indian nations and 3 Canadian provinces. He is called upon in right-of-way cases to establish the market value of tower properties and determining economic feasibility of proposed sites on both public and privately owned properties.

Expert Witness Areas of Expertise:

• Eminent Domain Matters and Public Taking of Advertising Structures and Wireless Telecommunication Facilities
• Placement and Market Value of Billboards on Railroad Rights of Way
• Compliance of Specialty Structures with Local Ordinances and Statutes
• Analysis of the Suitability of Local Ordinances Regarding Billboards and Cell Towers

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Dennis E. Wilson has over forty years of experience in Land Planning, Civil Engineering, and Land Surveying. His company, Horizon Consulting Service, specializes in Entitlements, In-Fill Projects, Civil Engineering, and Land Planning and Design for commercial, industrial and residential properties. Mr. Wilson works on both private and governmental projects.

As an Expert Witness, Mr. Wilson has participated in property line disputes, condemnation resolutions and land use issues.

Professional Memberships:

American Planning Association

Past Chair of Land Use Committee, National Association of Home Builders

Past Chair Land Use & Government Affairs, California Building Industry Association

Past Chair of BIACC PAC

Past Chair/Current Member on Land Use & Transportation Committee, Modesto Chamber of Commerce

M. Gordon Brown, DTech, FRICS, has been providing scientifically sound and cost-effective information and advice to define and solve real property problems since 1989. As an Expert Witness, Dr. Brown provides Daubert compliant evidence about designed and built spatial-visual patterns and their functional-economic effects and defects, pertaining to owner-builder-designer issues, underperforming real estate, access takings, premises liability, architectural copyright, and public spaces. His work is characterized by straightforward writing, clear mathematics, simple graphics, and easy-to-understand presentations.



His background in Real Estate Consulting and Urban and Architectural Design and Planning includes university research, leadership and teaching. Dr. Brown is one of the first in his field to develop and use network methods to analyze buildings and places. Dr. Brown has worked and lectured internationally, won national awards for his writing in architecture and real estate and his articles and columns have been published in peer-reviewed, professional and news media.



Areas of Expertise:

• Problem Property and Design Disputes - worked on large scale problems affecting Main Street properties, regional malls, downtown development, creative re-use and very large luxury houses
  
  
• Architectural Copyright - worked on several high profile cases and provided evidence in the largest award for damages in the United States
  
  
• Premises Liability - worked on multiple cases involving wrongful death, and problems involving spatial patterns and cues affecting pedestrian and vehicle movement
  
  
• Access Takings - provided evidence in the first Colorado access case in over three decades allowing a property owner's claim of substantial impairment to be accepted by the court
  
  
• First Amendment, Public Forum Issues - worked on a leading case involving a Major League baseball park public space

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Michael P. Russell has over 35 years of Real Estate experience as an expert witness regarding the buying, selling, financing, leasing and developing of all property types. In 2011, serving as their real estate expert witness, my clients and legal teams were successful in winning judgments of $50.3M (validated four joint ventures), $22M (valuation of real estate portfolio) and $3M (Substantiated terms of payment due by a public agency to a private developer).

Experience:

• Managed $2B in Transactions
• Sold over $500M in Property
• Entitled over 5,000 residential units; 2 million sq. ft. of office space
• Developed over 2 million sq. ft. of office

Areas of Expertise:

Receiverships Valuation Partnership Disputes Lender/Borrower Landlord/Tenant Broker Standard of Care Entitlements

Title and Easements Public/Private Agreements Homeowner Associations Real Estate Contracts and Instruments Divorce--Real Estate Forensics, Valuation and Distribution

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