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Joseph A. Stevens, Esquire
Stevens & McCann, LLC, Managing Member
Mr. Stevens has 25 years of experience in land use, zoning, government and environmental issues; working on substantial real estate development
and land use matters in Maryland and more recently in Maine. Mr. Stevens has assisted many private developers, land owners, local governments
and institutions in all the processes associated with land use and development, including: zoning approvals, variances and code matters,
developer agreements, municipal annexation, impact fees and adequate public facilities ordinances, comprehensive planning, legislative services,
wetland and environmental permitting, endangered species and coastal development issues, public facilities negotiations, transactions, leasing,
community association, common property matters and litigation. Mr. Stevens practices before elected officials and administrative boards, as well
as state trial and appellate courts.
Mr. Stevens started his legal career in 1993 with the law firm of Foster, Braden & Thompson, Stevensville,
Maryland, where he assisted the County Attorney for Queen Anne’s County with local government legal matters. Mr. Stevens then opened the Centreville,
Maryland office of the Bethesda based law firm Linowes & Blocher, LLP before founding his own firm in 1997.
Prior to practicing law, Mr. Stevens served
as Director of the Department of Planning and Zoning for Queen Anne’s County (1988-1993). Mr. Stevens has been adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland,
Department of Urban Studies and Planning and a continuing education instructor at the University of Wisconsin, teaching courses in planning, land use, resource
protection and zoning. Mr. Stevens is faculty member for the Maryland Institute for the Continuing Professional Education for Lawyers, the Land Use Institute.
He has also been a guest speaker at many conferences including the American Planning Association National Conference, the American Planning Association Maryland- Delaware
Conference, the American Planning Association Northern New England Conference and the National Association of Home Builders, State & Local Government Affairs Conference.
Mr. Stevens has served on a variety of boards and committees including: President, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland Bar Association; President of Maryland Association of Counties
Planning Officials; Executive Committee of the American Planning Association, Maryland Chapter; and the National Association of Home Builders, LANDS Group.
Most recently, Mr. Stevens joined the Land Use Code Revision Committee, which consists of twelve members appointed by the State Legislature and charged with revising all of
the State of Maryland Land Use Laws.
Mr. Stevens has authored a number of articles including, The Ever Expanding Use of Benefit
Assessments, 25 The Urban Lawyer 567,
American Bar Association, Summer Issue, 1993, 1994 Zoning and Planning Law
Handbook, Clark Boardman Callaghan, 1994; Exactions Impact Fees and Dedications: Shaping Land Use
Development and Funding Infrastructure In the Dolan Era, State and Local Government Law Society, American Bar Association, 1995. Reported appellate opinions include
Kent Island
Defense League, LLC, et al. v. Queen Anne’s County Board of Elections and Hovnanian at Kent Island, LLC, et al.,
145 Md. App. 684;
Queen Anne’s Conservation, Inc. v. The County
Commissioners of Queen Anne’s County et al. 382 Md. 306 (2003); and,
Robert W. Foley, et al. v. K. Hovnanian at Kent Island, LLC, 410 Md.128
(2007).
Mr. Stevens received a Juris
Doctor degree from University of Maryland (1993); a Master of Science degree from Eastern Michigan University (1985) and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Massachusetts College of
the Liberal Arts (1983). Mr. Stevens is licensed to practice law in both Maryland and Maine, as well as the U.S. District Court, District of Maryland and U.S. Appeals Court, Fourth Circuit.
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