Professional Staff
Mark White, esq. AICPS. Mark White is recognized as an expert in zoning and subdivision law, form-based zoning and New Urbanism, land use and takings litigation, housing, development of comprehensive growth management plans, and implementation systems. He has represented clients at every level from city, state and local governments, as well as major private developers, many of whom are involved in environmental permitting proceedings and takings litigation.
Mr. White is a former partner of Freilich, Leitner & Carlisle. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in History and Political Science from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, and holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While in law school, Mr. White was a Research Editor for the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation, and worked at the Department of City and Regional Planning as a Research Assistant in the Center of Urban and Regional Studies. He is a former President of the board of directors of the nonprofit community development group Westside Housing Organization, and is a member of the North Carolina and Missouri Bars, the American Institute of Certified Planners, the American Planning Association, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Mr. White publishes extensively on planning and land use issues. Mr. White’s articles have appeared in a variety of notable publications, including “Using Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances for Traffic Management” (American Planning Association); “State and Federal Planning Legislation and Manufactured Housing: New Opportunities for Affordable, Single-Family Shelter” (THE URBAN LAWYER); “The Interaction of Land Use Planning and Transportation Management: Lessons from the American Experience” (with Freilich) (Transport Policy); and “Affordable Housing: Proactive and Reactive Planning Strategies” (American Planning Association, Planning Advisory Service Report No. 441). Mr. White is also a frequent speaker at the national meetings of the American Planning Association, the American Center for National and International Law, the Congress of New Urbanism, the University of Wisconsin, and various other professional organizations.
Tyson Smith, esq., AICPE. Tyson Smith has a diversity of experience in local government and land use planning law, with particular focus on growth management and plan implementation. Mr. Smith’s practice in both the public and private sectors has involved rate of growth ordinances, impact fees, concurrency management, affordable housing, agricultural preservation, telecommunications planning, bike and pedestrian planning, and growth management systems.
Mr. Smith is a former associate at Freilich, Leitner & Carlisle. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and he holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning and a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida. While in planning school, Mr. Smith worked as a geographic information systems research assistant at the University of Florida’s GeoPlan Center. His thesis research centered on impact fees and their potential usefulness as a tool for protecting the environment at the local planning level. While in law school, Mr. Smith’s research focused mainly on growth management issues, techniques, and trends in Florida and around the nation. As a participant in the University of Florida Conservation Clinic, he consulted with local communities on matters of rural preservation and community redevelopment, employing such innovative techniques as transfer of development rights, purchase of development rights, less than fee acquisition, overlay districts, and tax increment financing.
Before joining White & Smith, Mr. Smith was a planner with the Monroe County Division of Growth Management in the Florida Keys. He later served as the Assistant City Planner for the City of Key West, Florida. In these positions, Mr. Smith gained experience in matters of affordable housing, growth management, transportation, and concurrency, as well as a number of other local government issues.
Jeff Hirt, AICPJeff Hirt is a certified planner with over five years of experience working in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining White & Smith in 2009, Jeff worked as a planner for the City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Jeff also worked for a national land use consulting firm that specializes in drafting land development codes and implementing plans.
Jeff has worked on zoning codes, comprehensive plans, and design standards for communities around the country. Jeff brings a unique blend of experience to the table, having acted as a project manager for a zoning code update project for a local government as well as having been an associate in the private sector for numerous local governments working on zoning codes. He has developed a solid understanding of the practical realities of writing regulations, and also implementing and administering them. This has enabled Jeff to develop a critical understanding of how regulations will play out in real world scenarios.
Jeff holds a Master's Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Kansas.
Ross Appel, esq.Ross Appel joined the Charleston, South Carolina office of White & Smith. Ross holds a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law and is a member of the South Carolina Bar.
While in law school, Ross served as an editor on the Southeastern Environmental Law Journal and was a member of both the Environmental Law Society and the Public Interest Law Society. Prior to joining White & Smith, Ross worked with the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and served as a law clerk to former South Carolina Department of Revenue Commissioner Burnet R. Maybank, III.
Before joining the firm, Ross successfully defended historic Rockville, South Carolina against a challenge to the validity of the town’s dock permit ordinance. During his time at White & Smith, Ross has gained expertise in a number of our practice areas, including military overlay zoning, impact fees, and development agreements.