Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Land Use

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Land Use is a senior leader responsible for developing and executing land use and entitlement strategies across a portfolio of development projects. This role manages entitlement teams and external consultants, leads interactions with municipalities, planning commissions, and community stakeholders, mitigates regulatory and political risk, and ensures projects obtain necessary zoning approvals, permits, and development agreements on schedule and within budget. The Director of Land Use translates regulatory requirements into actionable project tasks, drives policy advocacy where needed, and reports program status and risks to executive leadership.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Land Use Manager / Entitlements Manager
Municipal Planner or Principal Planner with private sector experience
Land Use Counsel or Senior Development Project Manager

Advancement To:

Vice President, Land Use & Entitlements
Head of Development / Senior Director of Development
Chief Development Officer (CDO) / Executive Director of Real Estate

Lateral Moves:

Director of Entitlements & Approvals
Director of Community & Government Affairs
Regional Development Director

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead end‑to‑end entitlement programs for multiple simultaneous projects, developing schedules, budgets, and milestone tracking to drive timely approvals and close coordination with project delivery teams.
Develop and execute comprehensive land use and zoning strategies to optimize land value, including rezoning, General Plan amendments, zoning code interpretations, and overlay district negotiations.
Manage preparation, submission, and tracking of permits and land use applications (conditional use permits, variances, subdivision maps, entitlements, design reviews) and ensure compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.
Direct environmental review processes (CEQA, NEPA, and related state/local environmental compliance), oversee environmental consultant selection, review technical studies, and coordinate mitigation strategies to minimize project delay and liability.
Negotiate and execute development agreements, memoranda of understanding, and infrastructure financing agreements with municipalities, special districts, and public agencies to secure project entitlements and infrastructure commitments.
Serve as principal liaison with city planning departments, county planning staff, building officials, public works, utility providers, and elected officials to advocate for project approvals and resolve technical and policy issues.
Design and lead community engagement and stakeholder outreach programs, including public hearings, neighborhood meetings, stakeholder briefings, and media communications, to build consensus and manage opposition.
Oversee preparation of technical exhibits, site plans, zoning maps, entitlement narratives, and presentation materials for planning commissions, city councils, and community boards, ensuring messaging aligns with project objectives.
Evaluate site feasibility from a land use and regulatory perspective, perform due diligence investigations, and deliver land use risk assessments and mitigation plans during land acquisition and predevelopment phases.
Supervise, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary land use team (planners, entitlement managers, community outreach specialists), including hiring, performance management, and professional development.
Manage and procure external consultants (planners, traffic engineers, noise specialists, biologists, surveyors, environmental consultants), lead scopes of work, RFPs, budgets, and quality control to deliver entitlement packages.
Integrate land use strategy with financial underwriting and development proformas by collaborating with development finance teams to align entitlements with project feasibility and return objectives.
Monitor, interpret, and advise executive leadership on changes to land use policy, zoning codes, planning legislation, and regulatory trends that could affect project pipelines and long‑term land strategy.
Create and maintain entitlement playbooks, standard operating procedures, and best practices to institutionalize successful land use approaches and accelerate subsequent projects across regions.
Lead complex, contested public hearings and political negotiations—preparing testimony, coordinating legal counsel, and managing political stakeholders to achieve favorable outcomes.
Coordinate infrastructure planning and public works approvals (streets, stormwater, utilities, traffic mitigation), ensuring alignment between land use conditions and capital delivery schedules.
Identify and quantify project risks related to land use, permit conditions, and community opposition; develop contingency plans and propose negotiated mitigation or design changes to reduce schedule and cost exposure.
Prepare and present regular status updates, board materials, and senior leadership briefings summarizing entitlement progress, risks, budget variances, and recommended next steps.
Drive cross‑functional collaboration with acquisition, design, construction, and asset management teams to ensure entitlements are implemented into design documents and construction deliverables.
Lead advocacy efforts on policy and zoning reforms when necessary, coordinating with industry associations, legal counsel, and government affairs teams to advance favorable land use outcomes.
Oversee post‑entitlement compliance activities, including monitoring conditions of approval, covenant requirements, and permit closeouts to ensure long‑term regulatory compliance.
Implement performance metrics for land use processes (entitlement cycle time, approval success rates, budget variance) and continuously improve workflows to reduce time to entitled status.
Manage multi‑jurisdictional entitlement strategies for projects spanning multiple cities or counties, balancing local political dynamics, regulatory requirements, and infrastructure coordination.
Support mergers, acquisitions, and disposition activities by preparing land use due diligence packages, risk summaries, and transition plans to inform transaction decision‑making.

Secondary Functions

Support ad‑hoc land use and entitlement data requests, maintain entitlement logs, and produce analytical reports to inform pipeline prioritization and capital planning.
Contribute to the organization's long‑term land strategy and site acquisition criteria by synthesizing market, regulatory, and political intelligence.
Collaborate with internal business units (acquisitions, finance, design, construction, legal) to translate land use requirements into actionable project tasks and procurement scopes.
Participate in project kickoffs, design charrettes, and agile planning sessions to align entitlements milestones with design and construction sprints.
Maintain and update GIS layers, zoning databases, and internal knowledge repositories to ensure teams have current regulatory and parcel‑level information.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Land use planning and zoning strategy development for residential, commercial, and mixed‑use projects.
Entitlements and permitting expertise across local, county, and state agencies; demonstrated track record obtaining complex approvals.
Environmental review knowledge (CEQA and/or NEPA) and experience managing environmental consultants and technical studies.
Development agreement negotiation and public agency contract experience.
Regulatory interpretation of municipal codes, General Plans, Specific Plans, and development standards.
Project scheduling and milestone management for entitlements (MS Project, Primavera, or equivalent).
Site feasibility and due diligence analysis, including land use risk assessments.
Experience with GIS, parcel mapping, AutoCAD/ArcGIS, and preparation of planning exhibits and site drawings.
Consultant procurement, scope development, and budget management.
Financial literacy related to proformas, fees, and cost impacts of land use conditions.
Familiarity with infrastructure permitting and coordination (public works, utilities, transportation mitigation).
Experience preparing materials and presentations for planning commissions, city councils, and community stakeholders.

Soft Skills

Exceptional stakeholder engagement and public speaking skills to lead hearings and community outreach.
Political acumen and government relations savvy; ability to build alliances and influence elected officials and staff.
Strategic thinking and the ability to translate policy constraints into development opportunities.
Leadership and people management skills, including coaching and scaling teams.
Negotiation and conflict resolution to resolve community and agency issues.
Strong written communication and technical writing for entitlement narratives and legal exhibits.
Problem‑solving under tight timelines with pragmatic, risk‑based decision making.
Collaboration and cross‑functional facilitation across acquisitions, design, finance, and construction teams.
Time management and prioritization of competing jurisdictional requirements and project demands.
Change management and process improvement mindset to optimize entitlement workflows.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning, Public Policy, Geography, Environmental Science, Real Estate, Architecture, Civil Engineering, or a closely related field.

Preferred Education:

Master of Urban Planning (MUP), Master of City Planning (MCP), Juris Doctor (JD) with land use focus, MBA with real estate emphasis, or equivalent advanced degree.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Urban and Regional Planning
Public Policy / Government Affairs
Environmental Science / Environmental Planning
Real Estate Development / Finance
Architecture / Civil Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 8–15+ years of progressive experience in land use, entitlements, planning, or real estate development.

Preferred:

10+ years directing land use and entitlement programs with at least 3–5 years in a senior or director role.
Demonstrated success obtaining complex approvals in multiple jurisdictions and managing cross‑disciplinary teams and consultants.
Proven record of leading contested hearings, negotiating development agreements, and coordinating environmental review processes.
Experience in both public sector planning and private sector development or experience working directly with municipal planning bodies is highly desirable.