Overview
Felicia Kitzmiller practices at the intersection of environmental, land use, and real estate law on projects ranging from single-family docks and agricultural easements to mines, marinas, and energy facilities. Her clients are individuals and large corporations.
As an environmental attorney, Felicia has experience in local, state, and federal environmental permitting, compliance, and permit defense. In the land use realm, Felicia develops entitlement strategy for large industrial, resource extraction, and energy operations. She often navigates compliance with and amendment of complex development approvals that have evolved over decades resulting in a patchwork of vested rights and new obligations. By uniting these often divergent practices, Felicia is able to assist clients in resolving complex land development challenges.
She has also provided clients with advice on a variety of miscellaneous topics including property taxation, public records retention and acquisition, and state road connection regulation.
Areas of Concentration
Environmental & Natural Resources
- Mining operations and resource extraction – Permitting, Compliance, Enforcement Environmental resource permitting, compliance, and enforcement
- CWA Section 404 permitting, compliance, and enforcement
- Protected Species and Habitat Conservation Regulation and Permitting
Land Use and Real Estate
- Sovereign submerged lands authorization
- Due diligence/title analysis
- Severed mineral rights advice and resolution
- Resource extraction development approvals and entitlement
- Easement negotiation and compliance
Representative Experience
- Represents Mosaic, the world’s leading integrated producer of concentrated phosphate and potash, in a variety of environmental and land use matters. Work includes securing environmental permits and local land development orders for new mines and mine expansions as well as counsel in implementation of and compliance with those permits that allows Mosaic to continue operations that provide thousands of Florida jobs and significant amounts of the world’s agricultural fertilizer. Other work includes facilitating the granting and acceptance of a variety of conservation, utility, and access easements and providing counsel on a wide range of land management issues and regulatory issues that arise from being one of the largest land owners in Florida.
- Helped a real estate investment firm take advantage of the lucrative short-term rental market in Florida by providing regulatory and code compliance assistance across multiple jurisdictions with differing demands for this unique land use.
- Assisted a large commercial developer in resolving challenges to state road connection points necessary to ensure safe and profitable access to the state road system. This included successfully defending one connection permit challenge at the Division of Administrative Hearings, with the Department of Transportation, and at the Second District Court of Appeals.
- Assisted in the permitting of the North Florida Resiliency Connection, an electric transmission line through the seven counties and 176 miles of the Panhandle to create service redundancy by Gulf Power. Assistance included navigating the NEPA process and unique challenges related to National Forests and historic preservation evaluations, and local government negotiations regarding comprehensive plan and land development regulation compliance.
Professional & Community Involvement
- Tallahassee Women Lawyers (TWL), Board of Directors, 2018-Present
- Secretary, 2023-Present
- Judicial Reception Director, 2022-2023
- Public Relations Director, 2020-2022
- Meetings Coordinator, 2019-2020
- The Florida Bar Environmental & Land Use Law Section (ELULS)
- Executive Council, 2019-2023
- Co-Editor of The Reporter, 2019-Present
- Tallahassee Bar Association, 2018-Present
- Young Lawyers Section, Board of Directors, 2018-2020
Recognition
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2023-Present
- American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition, National Semi-finalist, 2017
- Florida Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2022-Present
Publications & Presentations
Land Development News Update, Publications:
What's Developing | Fall 2024
Stearns Weaver Miller News Update|November 2024
Events:
Mentoring Matters
Florida State University College of Law|September 2024
Land Development News Update, Publications:
What's Developing | Summer 2024
Stearns Weaver Miller News Update|August 2024
Events:
Fresh From Florida: Emerging Issues in Agriculture and Their Effect on the Environment
38th Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School|July 2024
Events:
What's New In Environmental Resource Permitting
38th Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School|July 2024
Publications:
Federal court strikes down Florida’s CWA section 404 permit program
American Bar Association|May 2024
Land Development News Update, Publications:
Federal Court Says “No” to A Stay: Florida’s CWA Section 404 Permitting Program Remains Wholly Vacated
Stearns Weaver Miller News Update|April 2024
Land Development News Update, Publications:
Federal Court Strikes Down Florida’s Assumption of CWA Section 404 Permitting
Stearns Weaver Miller News Update|February 2024
Newsroom
In the Media:
Tallahassee Women Lawyers Fall 2024 Newsletter
October 2024
Firm Announcements:
Felicia Kitzmiller Selected President-Elect of Tallahassee Women Lawyers
July 2024
In the Media:
Tallahassee Women Lawyers 2023 Fall Newsletter
October 2023
Firm Announcements:
Felicia Kitzmiller Honored with the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar’s Stephens/Register Award
July 2023
Firm Announcements:
Stearns Weaver Miller Expands Tallahassee Office Space and Offered Services
February 2022
In the Media:
Fall 2021 TBA Member News
Fall Edition of the Tallahassee Bar Association's Bar Bulletin|October 2021
Firm Announcements:
Carl Eldred Joins Stearns Weaver Miller’s Statewide Land Development, Zoning & Environmental Practice
September 2021
Firm Announcements:
Stearns Weaver Miller Expands Statewide Land Development, Zoning & Environmental Practice with Five New Additions
September 2021