Deborah Getzoff is a partner in the Tampa office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where she is a member of the Real Estate Practice Group.

Deborah has more than 35 years of environmental and administrative law experience in both the private and public sectors.

She has had extensive experience representing developers, hotels, beach communities and condominiums in the permitting of land development projects, beach and coastal construction/protection projects, and marinas before state and federal environmental agencies. Deborah has negotiated issuance of state and federal permits for large-scale developments involving impacts to wetlands, water quality and endangered and threatened species. She has obtained permits and state lands approvals for hotels, beach construction, coastal protection structures, and marina projects. Her practice includes environmental due diligence review for real estate and loan transactions.

Deborah served as Director of The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Southwest District Office from 1999-2011 where she managed permitting and compliance activities for Water, Waste, Air and Environmental Resource wetland programs in a twelve-county area. She had previously served as Deputy General Counsel for Permitting at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Credentials

Education

  • University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D., 1977
  • Indiana University, B.A., 1973

Bar Admissions

  • Florida

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

Professional and Civic

  • The Florida Bar
    • Environmental and Land Use Law Section, Member
    • Administrative Law Section, Member
  • The American Bar Association
    • Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Member
  • City of Tallahassee-Leon County Board of Adjustment and Appeals
    • Chairperson, 1991-1994

News & Insights

Presentations

  • Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association, 62nd Annual Conference, 2018 and 2019: "Coastal Law Update: Case & Final Orders Concerning Florida Beaches"
  • Florida Chamber Annual Environmental Summer School, Course Moderator and Presenter, 1986 to present, which time span has included the following topics:
    • "FDEP Regulatory Update"
    • "Coastal Construction Control Line Permitting"
    • "Federal Wetlands Permitting Update"
  • American Bar Association Webinar, May 2015: "Looking Out to Sea: Resurging Interest in Seawater Desalination Projects Face the Twin Specters of Technical Challenges and Permitting Complexity"
  • National Association of Environmental Professionals Annual Conference, 2014: "Implementing Numeric Nutrient Criteria"

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Shutts & Bowen, established in 1910, is a full-service business law firm with approximately 270 lawyers located in eight offices across Florida.

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