Steven C. Davis

Steve simplifies complex approvals, moves stalled projects forward, resolves Notices of Violation, and corrects problems that arise in due diligence.

He provides strategy and team management of federal, tribal, state, and municipal zoning, land use, and environmental review. Services include pre-purchase due diligence, entitlements, right-to-build, construction, and operation approvals for new and expanding projects, as well as conversion of existing assets. To support these efforts, Steve also develops critical path method schedules and, if needed, formal permit management systems.

Steve’s approach is grounded in early identification of all required permits and approvals, project review to limit or eliminate unnecessary approvals, parallel scheduling of review processes, and well-crafted applications and support documents. Early and continuing liaisons with reviewers then help keep projects on track and on schedule.

He has experience with NEPA, MEPA, BIA, US EPA, USACE, MassDEP, MassCZM, MassDOER, FHWA, FAA, MassDOT, MassDCR, USF&W, NHESP, MassDAR, MHC, Article 80, SPSR, 40B, and analogous federal, tribal, state, and municipal regulations and regulators, throughout New England and elsewhere in the U.S.

For municipal clients, he provides zoning and non-zoning bylaw/ordinance analysis and revision, peer review, consensus building, and decision support.

Steve also provides pro bono career advice and guidance to those entering and making changes within the zoning, land use, and environmental review fields.

Current Projects

• Siting advice for a major new performing arts center
• Opposition project tracking in Wayland and Reading
• MEPA advice for a new hangar development at Hanscom Field
• MESA approvals for an industrial project in Plympton
• MEPA review for a large residential project in North Attleborough
• Chapter 91 approvals for a Battery Energy Storage System in Charlestown and a private seawall in Hull
• Permitting for a new school in Dracut

Recent Projects

• MEPA advice for a waterfront park in Revere
• MEPA review for mixed-use projects in Auburn and Oxford
• Strategic planning for UMass Lowell
• Permitting for distribution centers in Raynham, Charlton, and Oxford
• Due diligence review for major existing asset purchases in Waltham and Cambridge
• Strategy and team management for a large transit-oriented development in Somerville
• Permitting for a large residential project in West Bridgewater

Past Projects

• Master planning for a major port facility in Rhode Island,
• Federal review of major dredging projects in Massachusetts and Connecticut
• Strategy for and review of major public transportation projects in Eastern Massachusetts

Services/Industries

• Environmental & Land Use
• Real Estate

Education

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.S.)
  • Soil Mechanics
  • NDEA Title IV Fellow
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.)
  • Civil Engineering
  • National Merit Scholar, Teagle Scholar, Tau Beta Pi, and Chi Epsilon

Memberships

• Member, past Chair of the Environmental Committee, NAIOP Massachusetts—The Commercial Real Estate Development Association
• Environmental Business Council of New England
• Chi Epsilon National Civil Engineering Honors Society
• Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society
• Boston Harbor Now

Honors

• NAIOP Public Service Award, 2004 and 2007
• MassEEA Greenhouse Gas Policy Group, 2009-2011
• MassDEP Regulatory Reform Working Group, 2011-2017
• MassEEA MEPA Regulations Working Group, 1998 and 2008
• MassDEP Title 5 Working Group, 2017-2018

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Experience

• Strategic Advice
  For developers, institutions, and not-for-profit clients, Steve’s efforts focus on the strategy and tactics for review and development of new and expanding projects, on environmental compliance assurance for existing facilities, and on resolution of disputes with regulatory agencies. Steve has advised several hundred private development projects on environmental review strategy, including retail and commercial development, contaminated property reuse, industrial subdivisions, parking facilities, single and multi-family housing projects, waterfront development, mixed-use developments, and smart-growth projects. For public sector clients, Steve brings his skills to bear on environmental review strategy, policy analyses, regulatory assessments, capital planning, and development feasibility.
• Environmental Review Management
  Steve often manages the preparation of environmental review documents. This begins with the negotiation of an appropriate scope of study with reviewing agencies. From that scope, he develops scopes of work for each technical contractor, assists in the selection of suitable technical contractors, provides a writers guide, outlines all text to be produced, and provides quality assurance and quality control review of all draft text. Where needed, he redrafts text or drafts particularly sensitive text directly. Finally, he can assemble, produce, and handle the proper filing of the review document. He also provides effective liaison among the project proponent, the technical team, and the regulators. The result is environmental review documents and processes that meet the needs of regulating agencies while achieving project objectives in a timely and cost effective manner. He has provided such services on several hundred public and private sector projects.
• Conflict Resolution/Communications
  Where there is public or agency concern with the real or perceived impacts of a project, Steve provides issue identification, negotiation with affected parties, representation in public and agency meetings, and mediation among affected interests. Such situations arise in the context of alleged violations, where negotiations with permit agencies must be carried out, in the remediation of contaminated sites, where both communications with nearby residents and negotiations with potentially responsible parties often are needed, and in the environmental impact review of large or controversial projects, where public presentations and agency liaisons can be the key to success. His assignments in this area have included negotiating consent agreements in lieu of administrative or civil penalty actions on private projects, negotiating appropriate permit conditions for new development, and ministering to complex lease negotiations where potential tenants have environmental concerns. He also has represented clients successfully in complex negotiations around endangered species and historical resources.

Certifications

• Professional Engineer, Mass., License No. 28787
• Professional Engineer, N.Y., License No. 58190
• Professional Engineer, N.J., License No. 24586

Background

Steve founded Rackemann Strategic Consulting (now Verrill Strategic Consulting) in 1989 and has served as its president since. His experience before that includes:

• Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office, Boston, 1984 to 1989. Prin­cipal Civil Engineer (1984) and Assistant Secretary, Environmental Impact Review (1986). Co-authored the 1987 revised Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Regulations, reviewed major development projects, and managed the Commonwealth’s primary environmental impact review program for the Secretary of Environmental Affairs.
• Jason M. Cortell and Associates, Inc., Waltham, Mass., 1972 to 1984. Envi­ronmental Engineer (1972), Project Director (1973), Director of Technical Studies (1977) and Vice President (1981) for a nationally known environmental consulting firm providing complete analysis, review, and approval services to a wide range of private and public clients.

Publications

Steve is a regular presenter on land use and environmental matters, including:

• Moderator, Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy in Massachusetts, 2005
• Guest Lecturer at MIT, Harvard, BU, Northeastern, and Wentworth
• Speaker on MEPA and Permitting Strategy
• MCLE Panelist on Land Use and Environmental Matters
• The New MEPA Regulations, 1998
• Reviewing and Revising the MEPA Regulations, 1997
• The Saga of City Line Center, 1996
• Environmental Science for Environmental Attorneys, 1991
• Zoning Disputes, Appeals and Strategies, 1990