FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 31, 2019) – Tina Ekblad, partner and planning director at Morris-Depew Associates, will be participating in a panel discussion on expert testimony and litigation skills at the upcoming 2019 American Planning Association Florida Annual Conference in Sandestin, Fla.
This year’s conference, “Planning on the Upside of Paradise,” will focus on several regional planning issues, including post hurricane and hurricane readiness, economic development obstacles, affordable housing, mobility and mass transit challenges, environmental concerns, military planning challenges, and the search for innovative design.
Ekblad is scheduled to present as part of a “Litigation Skills: What Your Lawyer Wants You to Know” panel, scheduled Sept. 12. The session is designed to educate private and public sector planners on legal issues unique to litigation, as well as provide techniques to assist planners in preparing for litigation beginning with an initial development application and continuing through hearing.
An expert land planner, Ekblad has spearheaded Morris-Depew Associates’ land planning division growth over the last several years, including expanding the firm’s footprint to the North Florida region. She is currently involved in a variety of land planning projects for the commercial and residential sectors, mostly recently contributing to the approval by the Town of Fort Myers Beach for the Commercial Planned Development officially known as Margaritaville.
As planning director for Morris-Depew Associates, Ekblad is responsible for creatively leveraging unique property conditions and locations while maintaining and enhancing the public interest to secure entitlements for private development. Currently her project focus is to interconnect public natural resources and private property to establish distinct communities and non-residential development. Ekblad serves on the local and State Board for the Florida Planning and Zoning Association and is a charter and current board of director executive leader for the Southwest Florida Tiger Bay Club. She was recognized in 2018 by Gulfshore Business as one of Southwest Florida’s Top 40 Under 40.
Celebrating 30 years of serving Southwest Florida, Morris-Depew Associates is a multiservice consulting firm with specialties in civil engineering, land planning, expert witness, landscape architecture, and surveying and mapping services. MDA’s efforts are based on a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to the planning and design processes, which emphasizes interaction within the firm’s allied professional expertise in conjunction with the client’s objectives and ultimate needs. The members of MDA have experience in the planning and design of a wide variety of urban, residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and community-oriented projects ranging from large-scale resort residential projects to urban community spaces and commercial multiuse developments.
For more information, contact 239-337-3993 or visit www.morris-depew.com.
