Land Laws for Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors Seminar
DISCLAIMER
Before purchasing, review the rules of your licensing or certifying entity. It is your responsibility to confirm this course meets your CE requirements. See the credit tab on the course page for details.
What’s Included: Full webinar recording, written course materials, expert instruction, a mandatory quiz, and a certificate upon completion.
Deliverability Timeline: All courses are generally available within 1-2 weeks after the live presentation.
CE Credits: AIA and/or LA/CES accreditation is available by request for courses recorded prior to March 11, 2026. All courses after that date include those accreditations by default, if applicable. With these accreditations, our courses qualify for credit in nearly all states for engineers, surveyors, architects, and landscape architects.
Learn more about the on-demand format in our FAQ or contact us at (715) 835-5900 or customerservice@halfmoonseminars.org
Agenda
Registration: 8:00 – 8:30 am
Morning Session: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Lunch (On your own): 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Afternoon Session: 1:30 – 4:30 pm
State and Federal Site Contamination Law
S. Humphreys
Discovering existing soil and/or groundwater contamination
Understanding applicable rules and regulations
Understanding liability issues
Exploring remediation and brownfield redevelopment
Ethical Issues in Land Transactions and Development
R. Long
Accommodating the interests of land owners and communities
Enforcing environmental protections
Local control: is it necessary and who benefits?
Land Use Law
G. Forshner
Understanding land use law
Governmental power and authority to zone
Comprehensive land use planning and zoning
Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment jurisdiction
Finding existing land use laws and regulations
Seeking zoning variances or rezoning
Types of approvals
The engineer’s role in land use hearing
Post-approval
Outside agencies – timing and role
Participating in land use litigation and appeals
Two takeaways – simple and important, but often skipped
Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law
A. DellaPelle
Understanding eminent domain powers
• Source of eminent domain powers
• History of the exercise of eminent domain powers
• Types of eminent domain “takings”
Participating in the condemnation process
Appealing a condemnation decision
Understanding regulatory “takings” and inverse condemnation
Understanding Adverse Possession
C. Hopkins
The history of adverse possession
Statutory law
Case law on adverse possession
Maintaining a claim for adverse possession
• Statute of limitations
• Elements of a claim
Defending against a claim for adverse possession
Practical location of boundaries
Credits
NJ Professional Engineers
6.5 CPC Credits (Includes 1.0 Ethics)
NJ Land Surveyors
6.5 CPC Credits
Continuing Education Credit Information
This seminar is open to the public and offers 6.5 CPC credits, (including 1.0 ethics hour) to New Jersey professional engineers. HalfMoon Education is approved by the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors as a continuing education provider for New Jersey engineers and land surveyors (Approval No. 24GP00000700).
The New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors has approved this course for 6.5 CPC credits for professional land surveyors.
Due to New Jersey-specific course content, this seminar is not eligible for New York engineer and land surveyor continuing education credit.
Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire event. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.
Speakers
Anthony DellaPelle
McKirdy, Riskin, Olson & DellaPelle, P.C.Shareholder in the law firm of McKirdy, Riskin, Olson & DellaPelle, P.C., in MorristownMr. DellaPelle is certified as a civil trial attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court. He has represented property owners in eminent domain, redevelopment and real estate tax appeal matters for more than 30 years. Mr. DellaPelle is the sole New Jersey attorney member in and Board member of Owners Counsel of America, a national association of leading eminent domain lawyers across the country. He is also a designated member and a current vice chair of the Counselors of Real Estate®, an international organization of real estate professionals. Mr. DellaPelle is widely recognized as a leading practitioner in real estate valuation litigation, speaks on a variety of property rights topics in New Jersey and nationally. He has been recognized by his peers as a “New Jersey Super Lawyer” as published in the New Jersey Monthly magazine. He served on Governor Chris Christie’s transition team in 2009, and is currently a commissioner and treasurer of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority.
Gary S. Forshner
Law Office of Gary S. ForshnerMr. Forshner concentrates his practice in residential and commercial real estate development, redevelopment, land use and real estate development. Mr. Forshner represents owners and developers regarding development, mixed-use, affordable housing, residential, industrial, retail and office development projects. He has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, including zoning and planning, leasing, and municipal bidding. His practice includes representation of national, international, and local developers and businesses as well as charitable and religious organizations. Mr. Forshner served as special land use counsel to municipalities and to the New Jersey Builders Association. He is the former chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Land Use Section. Mr. Forshner regularly speaks on zoning and planning, redevelopment, affordable housing, sustainable energy, land use, eminent domain, and land real estate transactions.
Christopher Hopkins
Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer P.A.Counsel with Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer P.A.
Mr. Hopkins’ practice consists of representing developers and investors in connection with the acquisition, disposition, leasing, development and re-development of commercial real property. His practice runs the gamut of real property transactions from leasing, financing and redevelopment to affordable housing development, condominium association formation and returning contaminated properties or “Brownfields” to beneficial use. The breadth of his practice also extends to counseling clients on land use matters and on a variety of environmental regulatory compliance and permitting issues, including ISRA compliance, environmental due diligence, Superfund and other liability concerns. Mr. Hopkins participates in a number of industry organizations including the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, where he sits on the legislative affairs committee, the New Jersey Builders Association and the National Brownfield Association.
Steven Humphreys
Kelley Drye & Warren LLPMr. Humphreys is an attorney with the law firm of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, where he concentrates his practice on all aspects of environmental law and related counseling of businesses. He advises businesses on regulatory compliance and management of environmental risk in matters arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; and various other federal, state and local environmental laws. He also works on the environmental aspects of business transactions.
Reginald Long
Love and Long, L.L.P.Partner at the Law Firm of Love and Long, L.L.P.Mr. Long practices in the areas of public agency, real estate, corporate finance, zoning and land use. He has served as counsel to several planning and zoning boards, developers, financial institutions and public agencies. Prior to practicing at Love and Long, L.L.P., Mr. Long was employed by TIAA-CREF, a Fortune 100 pension fund, where he worked in the Mortgage and Real Estate Department financing and developing shopping malls, hotels, retail entertainment complexes and mixed-use projects, including Minnesota’s Mall of America. Mr. Long is the chair of the Real Estate and Probate Law Section of the National Bar Association, a member of the Board of Consultors of the Real Property and Trust and Estate Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association and a member of NAMWOLF’s Transactional Practice Area Committee.