Real Property Planning & Zoning
Minutes of Annual Business Meeting &
Program
of the Section of
Real Property, Planning and Zoning
(Friday, June 17,
2005)
The Section of
Real Property, Planning and Zoning held its Annual Business Meeting and Program
on June 17, 2005, in Ocean City, Maryland, in conjunction with the Maryland
State Bar’s Annual Meeting.
All attendees
enjoyed breakfast with friends and colleagues. Following breakfast, David M.
Kochanski, then Chair, ran the Business Meeting. Among other items, he
announced the formation of the new Foreclosure Committee, and presented the
slate of Officers and Members of the Section, which slate was seconded and
approved. The 2005 – 2006 Section Council Officers and Members are:
Chair - Thomas C. Barbuti
Vice-Chair - Tracey E. Skinner
Secretary - Michael S. Swanenberg
Chair, Code Revision Committee - Theresa Burian Shea
Chair, Commercial Real Estate Attorneys’ Discussion Group - Edward Urban Lee III
Members-At-Large of the Section
Council for a two-year term ending June 2007:
Sara H. Arthur – Anne Arundel County
Ronald S. Deutsch – Baltimore County
Guy E. Flynn – Baltimore City
H. Mark Rabin – Montgomery County
Barry Weiskopf – Baltimore City
Jack N. Zemil – Baltimore City
Members-At-Large serving for the
remainder of a two-year term ending June 2006:
Michelle R. Curtis – Montgomery County
Nicole M. Lacoste – Baltimore City (completing Mr. Swanenberg’s unexpired term)
Michelle DiDonato – Howard County
Nancy Haas – Baltimore City
Hilary O’Connor – Baltimore City
J. Paul Rieger – Baltimore City (completing Ms. Shea’s unexpired term)
David M. Kochanski, Immediate Past Chair
Raymond G. Truitt, Penultimate
Past Chair
At the Business
Meeting, Morton P. Fisher, Jr. received the Section’s Distinguished Practitioner
Award. When presenting the award to Mr. Fisher, Mr. Barbuti commented that
“Morty Fisher put Maryland on the National Map with his expertise in real estate
law.” Mr. Barbuti continued saying, “out-of-state real estate clients come to
Ballard Spahr because of Morty.” In addition to his national acclaim, Mr.
Barbuti highlighted Mr. Fisher’s mentoring of Maryland attorneys.
At the end of
the Business Meeting, Mr. Barbuti thanked all Section members and noted that our
Section and its members have garnered national recognition, especially as a
collegial group of practitioners. Further, he said that he was looking forward
to his term as the Section’s Chair and to expanding membership among young
lawyers. Also, he plans to establish more substantive committees, so to involve
more Section members. He would like to see the following committees formed:
Land Use, Condominium and HOA, and Mediation. He also welcomed members to
suggest other committees.
After the Business
Meeting, Mr. Kochanski and Mr. Barbuti moderated the panel of speakers who
presented the meeting’s substantive program, “The
Latest Reality In Real Estate: From TICs & 1031s To Swaps.”
The program and related
materials provided practical information on recent developments in structuring
sales of real estate and in structuring loans for purchases or refinancing
existing loans.
Wayne B. Heicklen,
Esq., of Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn LLP,
provided insight on how tenant-in-common ownerships (TICs) and 1031 Exchanges
are being used in tandem to avoid the high capital gains tax that may result
when selling real estate holdings. He commented that the Baltimore-Washington
Corridor is a “hot” market for TIC transactions.
Dennis L. Stough, Sr. Vice President of SunTrust
Bank, led the discussion regarding different loan products such as Swaps
and Mezzanine financing. Complementing this topic, Randall L. Scott,
of First American Title Insurance Company, discussed title insurance
requirements and potential issues relating to mezzanine financing and UCC
endorsements.
J. Paul Rieger,
Esq., of Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, closed the program with a
presentation on the newly enacted legislation in Maryland affecting the real
estate industry.
MSBA : Sections
& Committees : Real Property
