Expert Witness and Planning Testimony
Rezonings, special exceptions, and variances are quasi-judicial proceedings. The decision must be supported by competent substantial evidence in the record, and lay opinion — however strongly held and however many people hold it — is not competent substantial evidence. Expert planning testimony is how that record is built, and it is frequently what allows an approval to survive review.
Fred Drovdlic is an AICP-certified planner with nearly 30 years of Southwest Florida experience who has testified before Hearing Examiners, Boards of County Commissioners, Local Planning Agencies, Planning Boards, and City and Town Councils throughout the region. He has been and is currently accepted as an expert witness in Lee, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Charlotte counties and the municipalities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Town of Fort Myers Beach, and Village of Estero.
When you need it
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You are a land use attorney who needs a qualified planning expert for a contested hearing
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Your application faces organized opposition or a staff recommendation of denial
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You need a written consistency opinion on a comprehensive plan or land development code question
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A denial is headed to circuit court on certiorari and the record needs review
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Opposing expert testimony requires rebuttal
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A property rights, vested rights, or Bert Harris Act claim requires planning analysis
Areas of opinion offered
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Comprehensive plan consistency
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Land development code compliance and interpretation
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Compatibility with surrounding land uses
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Highest and best use
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Adequacy of public facilities
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Planning practice standards and the reasonableness of a jurisdiction's action
What GCPS delivers
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Qualification as an expert on the record
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Written planning opinions and consistency analyses
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Direct and rebuttal testimony at quasi-judicial hearings
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Deposition testimony
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Review of staff reports and opposing expert reports
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Exhibits and demonstratives prepared for a hearing audience
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Record review supporting appellate proceedings
What usually goes wrong
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The record is built for the hearing rather than for the appeal — approvals are overturned on certiorari because the record lacks competent substantial evidence on a point nobody thought to contest at the time. Testimony should establish every element the governing criteria require, including the elements that seem uncontroversial in the room.
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The expert is retained too late — a planner brought in a week before the hearing can testify, but cannot repair an application that never addressed the governing criteria. Testimony is only as strong as the analysis beneath it, and that analysis takes time to produce.
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Conclusions offered without criteria — "the project is compatible" is an assertion, not testimony. Testimony has to walk the specific plan and code criteria and tie each one to evidence in the record. The Hearing Examiners in this region are attorneys board-certified in city, county and local government law, and they notice the difference.