Partner
1675 Broadway, Suite 2300
Denver, Colorado 80202
Telephone: (303) 825-7000
Fax: (303) 825-7005
Cell phone: (303) 898-1665
pkirsch@kaplankirsch.com
Vcard

Mr. Kirsch's practice emphasizes land use and environmental law with a focus on public-sector development and transportation infrastructure projects. He has represented clients ranging from municipalities and local governments to private industry and public interest groups in negotiations and litigation over land use entitlements and the environmental impacts of infrastructure projects. Mr. Kirsch has litigated cases before administrative agencies, numerous state and federal trial and appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. Most of his practice focuses on federal regulatory matters that affect local land use regulations with a particular focus on transportation projects.

Many of Mr. Kirsch's engagements have involved large, controversial projects in which public opinion and political considerations are critical components of the legal strategy. Mr. Kirsch has experience advising clients on the interplay among legal, policy and legislative solutions to land use and transportation problems. Mr. Kirsch's practice requires close consultation with senior appointed federal officials, members of Congress and state legislatures, County Commissions, City Councils and special district boards.

For more than 20 years, Mr. Kirsch's practice has concentrated especially on the development of airports and nearby properties. He has represented dozens of clients on a wide range of land use, regulatory and environmental issues that arise in airport development projects. He regularly advises airports and local governments on land use law, federal regulations, and airport financial and operational issues. He has represented clients in precedent-setting federal and state court litigation relating to the powers of airport proprietors, control of airport noise and preventing encroachment of incompatible land uses. He has been involved in most of the new commercial airport projects in the United States in the last quarter century as well as dozens of airport expansions, redevelopment projects and development of collateral lands in the vicinity of airports.

Mr. Kirsch also frequently advises clients on compliance with federal environmental laws, with a particular focus on the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act and other federal statutes that affect projects requiring federal approvals. He has been involved in precedent-setting matters including allocation of water in the Platte River in Nebraska and Wyoming; the adoption of growth management legislation in Colorado; the restoration of the Kennebec River in Maine and land exchanges involving federal land management agencies.

Recent Publications and Seminars

Publications

  • "Ready, Set, Go: Legal Considerations in Implementing a Safety Mangement System," Airport Magazine, April-May 2011
  • "The Airport Noise Act: Safe Harbor or Procedural Hurdle," 16 Air and Space Lawyer 14 (2002)
  • "Sharing the Wealth from Airport Expansions," Urban Land 34 (1998)
  • "Understanding Historic Preservation Issues," Chapter in ICMA Base Reuse Handbook (1997)
  • "Using Formal Agreements to Provide Certainty in Airport-Community Relations," Airports 95 (Institution of Engineers-Australia Pub. No. 95/07) (1995)
  • "Defining the Scope of Alternatives in an EIS after Citizens Against Burlington," 21 Environmental Law Rep. 10701 (1991)
  • "Environmental Protection Through Federal Preemption of State Water Laws," 20 Environmental Law Rep. 10438 (1990)

Selected Seminars

  • Frequent speaker at, and program committee member for, Annual University of California Airport Noise and Air Quality Symposium (1990 - Present)
  • Frequent speaker at Florida Airports Council annual conference and environmental/noise issues conference
  • Frequent speaker at Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute
  • American Association of Airport Executives: Airport Planning Conference (2003 - 2007); Resort Airports Conference (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007); Annual Airport Law Conference (2005 - Present)
  • Frequent speaker at Airports Council International - North America conferences and legal committee meetings
  • National CLE (Real Estate) (2000, 2001, 2002, 2008)
  • American Bar Association Forum on Air and Space Law (2001)

Education and Clerkships

  • B.A., with highest honors, Oberlin College, 1979
  • J.D., University of Chicago, 1984
  • Law Clerk, Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit

Bar Admissions

  • Washington
  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland
  • Colorado
  • Many Federal District Courts, Courts of Appeals
  • U. S. Supreme Court

Professional and Civic Activities

  • Board of Directors, Colorado Conservation Voters (2004 - 2006, 2010 - Present)
  • Board of Trustees, Museum of Contemporary Art - Denver (2005 - Present)
  • Board of Trustees, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (2004 - 2010) (Chair 2006 - 2008)
  • Board of Trustees, Oberlin College (2000 - 2007; Executive Committee 2003 - 2006)
  • Bromwell School CDM [Governance] Committee, Chair (2002 - 2004)
  • Board of Trustees, River Network (1993 - 2002) (Chair 1999 - 2001)
  • Transportation Section, International Municipal Lawyers Association (Chair 1996 - 1997)