Peter A. Chacanias

Peter A. Chacanias is counsel in Flaster Greenberg’s Real Estate & Land Use and Environmental Departments. He concentrates his practice on advising commercial real estate developers and property owners on the land development process from start to finish, including development, redevelopment, affordable housing, and permitting. Peter has appeared before planning boards, zoning boards of adjustment, and other governing bodies throughout the State to advocate on behalf of clients in connection with applications of all kinds, including site plan approvals, subdivisions, and variance applications.

Unique among land use attorneys, he also has significant experience dealing with environmental issues and State and federal agencies, including waterfront development and tidelands matters; local, statewide, and federal historic preservation; wetlands; and pinelands.  Peter has successfully prepared and presented applications for grants, permits, Certificates of Filing, and other approvals before various governing bodies throughout New Jersey, including the Bureau of Tidelands Management, the Pinelands Commission, and the Division of Land Resource Protection, all subsets of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. He has also guided his clients through the historic preservation process, whether local, state, or federal, and has presented successful applications for Certificates of Appropriateness before various Historic Preservation Commissions throughout New Jersey. 

A frequent speaker, Peter has presented programs on land use, zoning, tidelands, and other waterfront development topics at a number of professional forums, including the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), the National Business Institute, the NEXUS Association of Realtors, Surety Title, and Fidelity National Title. Peter is an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the NJSBA’s Land Use Section. 

Prior to representing developers, Peter served as board solicitor for several municipal bodies throughout New Jersey, including the Point Pleasant Beach Planning Board, and the Zoning Boards of Adjustment for the municipalities of Little Egg Harbor, Toms River and Summit.

• Advises developers and property owners on all aspects of the land development process.
• Advises clients on complex title disputes of all types, including boundary line disputes, quiet title actions, foreclosures and tidelands matters.
• Appeared before the Tidelands Resource Council to present applications for riparian grants.
• Appeared before state agencies in connection with applications for Waterfront Development Permits and CAFRA Permits.
• Testified before the New Jersey Senate’s Judiciary Committee and the Community & Urban Affairs Committee regarding the legal and practical effects of proposed legislation on title practice in New Jersey.
• Secured approvals for hundreds of thousands of square feet of warehousing, manufacturing, and retail space, along with approvals for thousands of residential units, both affordable and market rate, throughout southern New Jersey.
• Nearly doubled the population of a local municipality within New Jersey's Pinelands by securing approvals for over 400 residential units, thousands of square feet of retail space, and a hotel, all while assisting the local school with the redevelopment of its athletic facilities and fields.
• Obtained approvals for the development of a new state-of-the-art 250,000 sq. ft. mortar production plant in southern New Jersey, to serve as the northeast anchor for the world leader in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protection in the building sector and automotive industry. 
• Guided a client through the demolition and redevelopment of a century-old historic structure with the cooperation of the local municipality.  
• Assisted hundreds of residential and commercial property owners through the closing process for premium waterfront properties up-and-down the New Jersey coastline, helping buyers and sellers (and title companies) successfully address tidelands and waterfront development issues that arise during title searches so the parties may proceed to closing. 

• New Jersey State Bar Association
  • Board of Directors, Land Use Section
• Former Board Solicitor
  • Point Pleasant Beach Planning Board
  • Little Egg Harbor, Toms River, and Summit Zoning Boards of Adjustment