C. Robert "Bob" Dalrymple

Bob Dalrymple is a shareholder in the firm’s Land Use and Zoning Practice Group, concentrating on all planning, regulatory and dispute resolution aspects of land use and zoning, real estate, municipal and administrative law. He represents clients primarily in Montgomery County and Frederick County, as well as the municipalities within those jurisdictions, guiding them through the increasingly complex and competitive regulatory frameworks that shape development throughout the region.

Bob primarily provides strategic counsel across the full lifecycle of real estate development, from initial site evaluation, due diligence and helping to identify, build and “quarterback” the project’s consulting team through entitlement, permitting and project completion. His practice encompasses comprehensive growth management analysis, zoning and master plan amendments, variances, special exceptions, subdivision approvals and related administrative and judicial appeals. He regularly appears before planning commissions, zoning boards, hearing examiners and municipal and other governmental bodies, advocating on behalf of his clients in administrative, legislative, quasi-judicial and judicial proceedings relating to land use and zoning.

Throughout his career, Bob has represented a broad spectrum of clients, including local and national developers of retail, office, residential, industrial/warehouse and mixed-use projects; golf course developers; nonprofit, educational and religious institutions; financial institutions; healthcare providers; and other institutional property owners and users. He is particularly experienced in managing complex development matters involving layered regulatory approvals, interagency coordination and community stakeholder engagement.

A significant component of Bob’s practice involves structuring and advancing complex public-private partnerships (P3s). He advises private developers and institutional clients in responding to land use and zoning aspects of governmental Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and participates with transactional counsel in negotiating sophisticated development agreements and navigating procurement and disposition processes for publicly owned land. His experience includes coordinating with Staff with all relevant county, municipal and State agencies, economic development authorities and public officials to align project objectives with public policy goals, planning and fiscal considerations. Bob’s work in this arena often requires integrating land use entitlements with development agreements. Also, Bob has worked on multiple projects that helped legislatively enable and then utilize a Development Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRRA) with the local approval authority, creating early vesting for large projects and a multiple decade freezing of applicable laws pertaining to full entitlement and build-out.  This type of ingenuity is hallmark to Bob’s practice and enables him to bring transformative urban development and redevelopment projects to fruition.

Bob also provides counsel to clients in administrative appeals of entitlements and related litigation, as well as strategic pre-development due diligence and risk assessment. His pragmatic approach and deep familiarity with local codes and decision-makers allow him to anticipate issues early in the development processes and position projects for timely and successful outcomes.

In addition to his client work, Bob has served on the Firm’s Executive Committee and contributed to the firm’s strategic growth. A lifelong resident of Montgomery County, he remains actively engaged in numerous community, business, non-profit and professional organizations, reflecting his longstanding commitment to the region in which his clients develop and invest.