Whatever your land use objectives – development, construction, preservation – Jana McDonald will work with you, and in active partnership with consultants, real estate professionals, and local government officials, to advocate for and provide counsel, based on her thorough understanding of land use and zoning concepts and principles, knowledge of real property law, and broad experience in many facets of real estate transactions.
Combining profound respect for private property rights and the preservation of economic opportunity, Jana has a firm understanding of the importance of analyzing and mitigating the impacts of land development on community infrastructure, services, and resources as part of the permitting and approval process.
She is passionate about the role of land use planning in community and economic development and has the advantage of having been seated on both sides of the table – as an attorney representing real estate developers to local boards and as a planner advising local boards on real estate development projects. This experience has created a unique position from which Jana views the development process, resulting in her ability to provide legal representation from the perspective of developers, community activists, local government, adjoining landowners, and resource conservation and preservation groups.
Her previous work as counsel to large-scale industrial and commercial real estate developers in New Jersey and South Florida and as a local government planning official in New York, contributes to her ability to represent community groups and individuals, as an advocate for – and a sometimes objector to – land use applications and proposed development.
She is able to assist property owners in achieving their land use goals, by providing balanced, objective, knowledgeable and comprehensive advice and counsel on a wide range of land use planning, development, construction, preservation, conservation, and real estate related transactional and taxation matters, including charitable contributions of real estate and development rights, preparation and interpretation of restrictive covenants and easements, and litigation and appeal of land use disputes.
Prior to joining Bousquet Holstein, Jana was an attorney at the Lindenfeld Law Firm in Cazenovia. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit historic preservation organization and land trust, she actively worked with landowners and representatives of state and local government in securing multi-million dollar farmland preservation grants and developing farmland conservation easements. She previously served as the Director of Planning for the City of Utica in the Urban and Economic Development Department.
Affiliations
- New York State Bar Association, Real Property Law Section
Community Involvement
Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County, Syracuse City Landlord Tenant Court
Education
J.D., University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 1990
- Editor in Chief, Journal of Law and Public Policy 1989-90
Bachelor of City Planning, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1987 School of Architecture, Urban and Environmental Planning
Admissions
New Jersey
Florida
District of Columbia
New York
U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
