Jennifer L. Van Tuyl
"Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers." - Alfred Lord Tennyson
Jennifer is a Partner at the firm and one of the firm’s LEED (R) AP attorneys. Jennifer has practiced land use law in the Mid-Hudson Valley for more than 25 years. Her clients include a broad range of mixed-use, commercial, industrial, and non-profit developers, both as applicants for land use and environmental permits and in matters relating to municipal law enforcement and contracts with governmental agencies. She regularly appears before Planning Boards, Town/City/Village Boards, Zoning Boards and other permitting boards and agencies. She has worked on a number of projects involving adaptive reuse of historic buildings, Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND) and other mixed-use and transportation-oriented projects, which often include zoning amendments, comprehensive plan amendments, and Coastal Zone and LWRP consistency determinations, as well as SEQRA compliance issues and green building and other sustainability issues. Jennifer has a background in municipal law and has served as a Town and Village Attorney and as special counsel for numerous municipal corporations, school district/library agencies and Planning and Zoning Boards, undertaking special projects as direct actions or reviewing controversial projects.
Jennifer has also handled land use, SEQRA and municipal litigation and has argued cases in the Appellate Division and Court of Appeals. She served on the New York State Advisory Committee on Land Use Statutes during the major revision of those statutes in the state and served on the Governor’s Commission on Coastal Resources as Chair of the Committee on Growth Management.
She lectures widely on land development and environmental issues and frequently participates as an instructor in training programs for local legislative, zoning and planning board members.
Education
- University of Virginia Law School, J.D.; 1971
- Vassar College, A.B.; 1968
Admissions/Courts
- New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Supreme Court of the United States
Awards + Recognitions
- Super Lawyers® Upstate New York; 2010, 2012-2023
- Top 25: Women Upstate New York Super Lawyers
- Top 25: Hudson Valley Super Lawyers
- “AV” Preeminent rating (the highest available) from Martindale-Hubbell
- Designated by Martindale-Hubbell as “2013 Top-Rated lawyer in Land use and Zoning”
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional; 2009
Professional Associations
- New York State Bar Association, Municipal and Environmental Sections
- US Green Building Council, New York Upstate Chapter
- Dutchess County Bar Association, Judiciary Committee Chair, 1991-1992; President, 1987-1988
Presentations + Publications
“SEQRA Reform – Changes to SEQRA Regulations and to SEQRA Forms”
NYS Bar Association, Annual Fall Meeting (Environmental/Municipal Law Sections), October 25, 2013
Panelist
“SEQRA Reform”
Alliance for Balance Growth SEQRA Summit, November 1, 2012 and September 24, 2013
Panelist
“SEQR: Getting Ready for the new EAF”
NYS Bar Association, Environmental and Municipal Law Section, October 2011
Panelist
“Avoiding Surprises During the Planning Process”
NYS Association of Professional Land Surveyors Annual Conference, January 2010, January 2011
Panelist
“New SEQRA Regulations and Forms”
NYS Association of Professional Land Surveyors Annual Conference, January 2013
“Beyond the Stimulus Package–Funding Public Improvements in Hard Times,”
New York State Association of Towns Annual Meeting presentation to Town Attorneys, February 17, 2009
“New SEQRA Forms”
New York State Association of Towns Annual Meeting presentation to Town Attorneys, February 18, 2013
Orange County Planning Federation Training Program for Planning and Zoning Board members
2006 to 2013
Lecturer
Affordable Housing and Smart Growth, Dutchess County Bar Association Training Program
September 2007
Lecturer
Comprehensive Planning and Smart Growth: Comprehensive Plan Compliance, Incentive Zoning, Transfer of Development Rights
October 2006
Lecturer
Transfer of Development Rights, Dutchess County Planning Federation, Vassar College
October 2004
Lecturer
Community Service
- Legislative Action Committee, Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, 2012-present
- Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Council workgroup on Industry Clusters (Professional and Financial Services) Fall, 2011
- American Heart Association, Dutchess Ulster “Go Red for Women” Executive Leadership Team, 2009-2010
- Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation, Board of Directors; 2004-2010
Extracurricular
- Jennifer is a board member of the Latin Mass Society of the Hudson Valley.
- Jennifer and her husband are members of the Order of Malta (maltausa.org), American Association, and active in the Order’s Prison Ministry.
- Jennifer appreciates coffees from small-batch roasters. She generally carts significant amounts of coffee-brewing paraphernalia even on vacations.
- In pursuing law, she set aside an initial inclination to pursue a graduate degree in history, so she enjoys reading history and biography from different historical periods, particularly World War II in the Pacific.
Related Updates
Client Successes • Feb 16, 2024
LotusWorks Wellness, Inc. Secures Microbusiness License for Cannabis Retail and Cultivation
Successfully assisted our client with securing a cannabis microbusiness license from the NY Office of Cannabis Management for a retail store in Beacon, New York.
READ MORE
Publications • Nov 13, 2023