My Credentials
Rhodes College, Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Business Administration, cum laude, Phi Beta Kapa
Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen, Zertifikat Deutsch, exchange student
Florida State University, Masters of Science in Planning, University Fellow
Florida State University, Certificate in Real Estate Development, Department of Urban & Regional Planning
Florida State University, Juris Doctor, magna cum laude; Law Review; Order of the Coif
Hi, I’m Jake Cremer
Managing Partner
I help developers, investors, and landowners when they need to work with the government on land development issues. He focuses on complex strategies requiring a combination of land use entitlements, environmental permitting, and property rights protection. After spending a decade at one of Florida's largest law firms, and time at boutique firms before that, I'm excited to bring my experience to a more entrepreneurial setting.
I'm a sixth-generation Floridian who grew up working in my family's timber operations in Palatka. Those early mornings in the woods taught me about the delicate balance between using our land wisely and preserving it for future generations—a perspective that shapes my approach to land development law today.
My practice focuses on complex projects requiring a combination of land use entitlements, environmental permitting, and property rights protection. My philosophy is straightforward: find creative solutions that turn challenges into opportunities, whether through strategic negotiations, policy innovation, or when necessary, vigorous litigation to protect property rights.
I've been fortunate to work on some of Florida's most transformative projects, including helping shape and implement the Live Local Act—one of the country's boldest pro-housing policies. Currently, I'm lead counsel for several major redevelopment initiatives in Tampa with a combined value exceeding $1 billion. And I'm equally passionate about helping agricultural landowners unlock alternative streams through mitigation banking and conservation easements.
My practice has taken me from the hammocks and wetlands of Old Florida, to local planning boards across the state, to joining a team for a case on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. I've had the privilege of drafting legislation that became Florida law and of working in state government in Tallahassee. Each project teaches me something new, and I love the variety—no two days are the same in land development law.
Bar Admissions, Certifications, & Licenses
Licensed by Florida Bar
Admitted in the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida
Admitted in the Supreme Court of the United States
Notable Experience
Affordable & Workforce Housing Development - Lead land use and environmental counsel for some of Florida's largest affordable housing developers on $1+ billion in Tampa redevelopment projects including West River, Rome Yard, and Robles Park mixed-use developments
Large-Scale Development - Secured major Hillsborough County Urban Service Boundary expansion for agricultural client (2,204 dwelling units) and rewrote Energy Innovation Park category adding 1,200 units to 7.35M sq ft industrial approvals
Waterfront Development - Managed land use, environmental, and permitting for $600M Westshore Marina District project featuring 55 acres, 200+ marina slips, hotel, retail, and 1,250+ residential units
Corporate Headquarters - Obtained entitlements and permits for the 152-acre headquarters of one of Tampa Bay’s largest companies, including a rezoning, complex wetland permitting and brownfield designation
Public Private Partnerships - Lead counsel for dual-flag hotel development adjacent to Tampa City Hall, managing site acquisition, development approvals, and $1M FDEP cleanup grant
Live Local Act - Key contributor to SB 328 (2024) legislative updates and local government comprehensive plan compliance implementation
Legislative Experience - Primary drafter of multiple enacted statutes covering property rights, exactions, impact fees, concurrency, and expedited port permitting, andTestified before Florida Senate Committee on proposed legislation affecting client subsurface mineral rights
Agricultural Property Rights Defense - Successfully defended unusual agricultural operation's greenbelt classification in case of first impression. McLendon v. Nikolits, 211 So. 2d. 92 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
Groundbreaking Property Rights Cases - Assisted in defending oceanfront property rights in Stop the Beach Renourishment v. FDEP, 130 S.Ct. 2592 (2010), and authored successful amicus brief in Koontz v. St Johns River Water Management District, 133 S.Ct. 420 (2013)
Community Involvement & Board Service
City of Tampa, Tampa Forward: Building Tomorrow Together, Land Development Code Advisory Team, Chair, 2024-Present
Tampa Bay Builders Association, 2015-Present, Board of Directors, 2022-Present, Secretary & Executive Committee, 2024-Present
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services’ Silviculture Best Management Practices (BMP) Technical Advisory Committee, 2018-Present
Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Gubernatorial Appointee, 2015-Present
Hillsborough County Farm Bureau, Board of Directors, 2015-2024
The Junior League of Tampa, Community Advisory Board, 2019-2021
Florida Brownfields Association (FBA), Former Board Member
Florida Eminent Domain Conference, Co-Chair, 2021-2024
Florida State University College of Law, “Legislation and Regulation”, Adjunct Professor, 2019-2020
Rhodes College Alumni Association Executive Board, 2011-2014
The Florida Bar Environmental & Land Use Section (ELULS), Former Executive Council Member and Co-Editor of the Reporter
Florida Forestry Association, 2010-Present
Forest Landowners Association, 2010-Present
Association of Florida Community Developers (AFCD), 2015-Present
Palma Ceia Country Club
Media, Publications, & Speeches
Planning the Future: Live Local Act, Legislative Update, & Legal Battles, Fla. Envtl. Permitting Summer School (July 18, 2024).
Permit to Build: Cutting Tape in Florida and Beyond, Florida Policy Project’s Florida Housing Summit (May 14, 2025).
How to Streamline Housing Permitting in Florida, Mercatus Center, George Mason University (Dec. 3, 2024).
Live Local Redux: What Eminent Domain Professionals Need to Know This Time Around, Florida Eminent Domain Conference (Nov. 15, 2024).
Investing and Developing Over the Next Cycle, FSU Real Estate Center, Trends Conference (Nov. 7, 2024).
Navigating the Country Boldest Housing Supply Legislation: Florida’s Live Local Act, Cafe Con Tampa (Nov. 3, 2024).
How the Live Local Act Changes the Land Use Game, Fla. Envtl. Permitting Summer School (July 18, 2024).
Affordable Housing Legislation Update, Real Estate Investment Council (Jun. 2023).
Land Use in Florida, Florida Bar Real Estate Certification Course (Apr. 2019-23).
Concurrency, Impact Fees, and Mobility Fees, Fla. Envtl. Permitting Summer School (July 2019-23).
Property Rights 101, Fla. Envtl. Permitting Summer School (Aug. 2016-22).
Ethics in Property Rights Legal Practice, Fla. Eminent Domain (Nov. 2020-22).
Environmental Issues in Real Estate Transactions, Fla. Real Property Complex Transactions (2020-22) (11th & 12th Eds.).
Attorney’s Fees, Fla. Envtl. & Land Use Law Treatise (2022).
Sea Level Rise in Tampa: A Policy Approach, City of Tampa City Planning Webinar (Jan. 2021).
The Florida Land Use & Environmental Dispute Resolution Act, Fla. Eminent Domain Conference (Nov. 2021).
Stormwater Considerations during Risk-Based Corrective Action, Fla. Brownfield Ass’n (Oct. 2018).
Competent Substantial Evidence Before Local Government: Florida Bar Advanced Hot Topics 2018 Seminar (Apr. 2018).
Could the Endangered Species Act Finally Be Modernized?, Forest Landowner Magazine (Jan. 2018).
Understanding How the Endangered Species Act Impacts Property Rights While Tracing the Efforts to Modernize the Policy, Nat’l Conference of Private Forest Landowners, Forest Landowners Ass’n (June 2017).
Understanding Riparian and Water Rights, Boundaries and Easements Seminar (Apr. 2017).
History of Inverse Condemnation, Regulator Takings, and Exactions, Association of Eminent Domain Professionals (Mar. 2017).
A Tough Eight Years: Will the New Administration Offer Change?, Forest Landowner Magazine (Nov. 2016).
The Uncertain Fundamentals of Federal Regulation of Wetlands, Fla. Bar Envtl. & Land Use Section Reporter (Mar. 2016).
What Does WOTUS Mean for the Timber Industry?, Se. Wood Producers’ Ass’n Quarterly Magazine (Nov. 2015).
The Planner as Social Entrepreneur, 2015 Conference, Am. Planning Ass’n Fla. Chapter (Sep. 2015).
Free to Do Business: Understanding Your Rights as a Landowner in the Face of Increasing State and Federal Regulation, Nat’l Conference of Private Forest Landowners, Forest Landowners Ass’n (June 2015).
How Does WOTUS Affect Your Clients’ Wetlands?, Lawyer Magazine (Nov. 2015).
Florida’s Land Use Protections for Agricultural Operations, In the Field Magazine (2015).
The Peculiarities of Agricultural Law in Florida, Lawyer Magazine (Nov. 2013).
Koontz v. SJRWMD: Implications for Florida Environmental, Land Use, and Real Property Lawyers & Their Clients, Hillsborough County Bar Ass’n Envtl. & Land Use Section (Oct. 2013).
Exactions at the Forefront: The U.S. Supreme Court Decides Koontz, APA Planning & Law (Summer 2013).
Where Do Property Rights Fit into Sustainability?, 2013 Conference, Am. Planning Ass’n Fla. Chapter (Sep. 2013).
Ethics for Environmental & Sustainability Reporting, Fla. Bar Envtl. & Land Use Section 2013 Update (Aug. 2013).
2013 Environmental & Land Use Update, Hillsborough County Bar Ass’n Envtl. & Land Use Section (Apr. 2013).
The Forest Roads Litigation, 2013 Winter Meeting, Alabama Forestry Ass’n (Mar. 2013).
Property Rights Legal Update, Se. Wood Producers’ Ass’n Quarterly Magazine (Feb. 2013).
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Important Florida Exactions Case, ABA Constitutional Law Comm. Newsletter (Feb. 2013).
Florida Once Again on the Forefront of Takings Law, Lawyer Magazine (Jan. 2013).
Florida Case Law Update, Florida Bar Environmental and Land Use Section Reporter (2011-2012) (co-author).
Will the Silvicultural Exemption Survive?, ABA Forest Resources Committee Newsletter (June 2012) (co-author).
Administrative and Judicial Review of Land Use Decisions, Fla. Envtl. & Land Use Law Treatise (updating co-author 2012).
Smart Growth Developments, in ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ Year in Review (2012) (contributor).
Land Use, Development, & Economic Growth, Leadership Florida Class XXXI (Nov. 2012).
Agricultural Law & Policy in Florida, 2013 Conference, Am. Planning Ass’n Fla. Chapter (Sep. 2012).
Forest Lands Legal Update, Nat’l Conference of Private Forest Landowners, Forest Landowners Ass’n (May 2012).
Environmental and Land Use Considerations for Real Estate Transactions 2012, Fla. Bar CLE (Apr. 2012) (co-chair).
Landowner, Forestry, & Logging Legislative Update, Presentation to Southeast Wood Producer’s Ass’n (Apr. 2012).
Applying Old Methods to New Values: Considerations for Green Leases, American Bar Association Smart Growth & Green Buildings Committee Newsletter 18 (Jan. 2012) (co-author).
Growth Management in Florida: Past, Present, & Future, FSU College of Law Seminar (Mar. 2012; Feb. 2011).
Introduction to Legal Process, Tallahassee Community College Paralegal Course, guest lecturer for 3 classes (Summer 2011).
Green Leases in Florida, Presentation to FSU College of Law Real Estate Law Society (Mar. 29, 2011).
2011 Growth Management & Land Use Legislation, Fla. Bar Real Property Section Annual Mtg. (materials co-authored).
Groundwater Quality Protection: An Overview, Fla. Envtl. & Land Use Law Treatise (updating co-author 2011).
EPCRA: Federal Environmental Reporting 101, ABA Young Lawyers’ Division, 101 Practice Series (2011).
Fighting the Lure of the Infinite: Lease Conservation Easements at the Urban Fringe, 40 Envtl. L. Rep. 10687 (2010).
Integrating Growth Management & Ecosystem Services to Conserve Agriculture, 39 Envtl. L. Rep. 10541 (2009).
The Reprise of Biofuels: Breaking Down the Barriers, 8 Fla. State Univ. Bus. R. 56 (2009) (co-author).
Life Outside the Law
I live in Tampa with my wife Terin (yes, we're partners in every sense!) and our three children and rescue pitbull. When I'm not working, I’m training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, on the yoga mat, or traveling - so far my favorite countries are Egypt and Thailand. When I want to relax, I head to my family’s 2,000-acre timber farm, where we own and operate a wetland mitigation bank, Cedar Creek Mitigation Bank. If you'd like to learn more, see my LinkedIn profile.
Recognition
Chambers USA, Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use (North & Central Florida), Band 2 (2018-Present), Environment (Florida) (2021-Present)
The Best Lawyers in America®, 2023-Present, Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Land Use and Zoning (Tampa), 2025
Florida Super Lawyers, 2024-Present, Rising Star, 2013-2023
Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, 2017, “Up and Comer,” 2012-2016
Leadership Tampa Bay, 2016
Tampa Connection, Class of 2015
Florida State University Alumni Association, 30 Under 30, 2014
Tampa Bay Business Journal, “Up and Comer,” 2013
Leadership Florida Connect, Class II, 2012
Florida Forestry Association, 40 Under 40 Young Leader, 2011
American Planning Association, Florida Chapter, Outstanding Student Urban Planner, 2009
Florida Gubernatorial Fellow, placement at the Department of Community Affairs, Jeb Bush Outstanding Achievement Award, 2009
National Merit Scholar
Practice Areas
Land Development & Government Relations
Environmental & Natural Resources Law
Agricultural Law
Property Rights Advocacy
Planning & Regulatory Consulting
Affordable Housing Development (including the Live Local Act)
