John L. McBride

John L. McBride

Shareholder  |   Reston Office Map

t.  703-218-2133  |  f.  703-218-2160

Biography

Professional Associations

Honors And Awards

Practice Highlights

  • Conduct due diligence investigations of real estate. (What can I do with this property, and what governmental permits do I need?)
  • Prepare and prosecute to completion: land use applications for rezonings, special use permits, special exceptions, certificates of appropriateness (ARB), appeals of zoning violations and determinations to Boards of Zoning Appeals.
  • Analyze the effect of zoning, subdivision and other local government regulations upon particular development issues.
  • Represent landowners in zoning determinations, zoning verifications, proffer interpretations, zoning violation matters and legal non-conformance/grandfathering /vesting issues.
  • Represent landowners in land use litigation against local governments, including appeals from the Board of Zoning Appeals.
  • Represent landowners before Circuit Courts, Boards of Zoning Appeals and the Virginia Supreme Court on eminent domain, zoning, variance and subdivision matters.
  • Represents the Prince William Bar Association on the Prince William Zoning and Development Ordinance Advisory Committee, which drafts amendments to the Prince William County Design and Construction Standards Manual (DCSM), Subdivision and Zoning Ordinances. The DCSM is incorporated into the zoning and subdivision ordinances and covers, inter alia, landscaping/buffers, parking, LID, storm water management, urban design standards, and transportation system requirements.
  • Lobbied on behalf of landowners and business owners in the following Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance amendments – Lighting Ordinance, Big Box Ordinance, Service Station/Mini-mart Ordinance, the “Neighborhood Compatibility” Ordinance, and the Restaurant Entertainment Ordinance.
  • Negotiate with civic associations, adjacent property owners and other citizens regarding pending land use applications.
  • Negotiate and draft development agreements between private (and sometimes public) entities to facilitate the orderly development of land and the future conveyance of easements.
  • File and prosecute real estate tax appeals for income producing property and vacant land.
  • Represented landowners in condemnation negotiations and eminent domain proceedings (such as the following projects: Hotlanes, I-66 and I-495 widenings, Rt. 28 widening, Rt. 1 widening, Fairfax County Parkway, Columbia Gas Pipeline, Herndon Parkway).
  • Represented landowners in the sale of Merrimac Farm in Prince William County to the VDGIF, in collaboration with the Prince William Conservation Alliance and Base Quantico (Navy Dept.).
  • Negotiate and draft historical preservation and open space/conservation easements acceptable to the Virginia Department of Historical Resources, the American Battlefield Protection Program and the Land Trust of Virginia.
  • Land use and development consultation on behalf of environmental not-for-profit organizations.
  • Past consultant to the County of Culpeper and the City of Manassas Park in drafting amendments to their Zoning and Subdivision ordinances.

Pro-Bono Activities

Classes And Seminars