Land Use Practice Updates 2026

Sheila is a partner in GKH’s Advocacy Group and focuses her practice on land use and zoning, civil rights, and general litigation. As part of her land use practice, Sheila represents landowners, developers, and citizen groups in all aspects of zoning, land development, and permitting matters. She has represented clients throughout South Central Pennsylvania, including in Lancaster, Chester, York, Berks, Dauphin, and Lebanon Counties. Sheila also assists clients with real estate matters including preparing sales agreements, leases, and easements. Sheila has experience related to Sunshine Act issues and handling Right to Know Law appeals before the Office of Open Records. She also represents municipalities as special counsel. Sheila has experience with all aspects of civil litigation matters, where she draws on her experience as a former federal and state supreme court law clerk. Sheila has litigated land use appeals and other real estate disputes before the Court of Common Pleas and Commonwealth Court and also has assisted with cases in federal court. She is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Before joining GKH, Sheila served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Thomas G. Saylor of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and, later, to the Honorable John E. Jones III of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Sheila was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Sheila currently serves on the Board of Directors for MidPenn Legal Services and is a former Board Member and past President of the Lancaster YWCA. She serves as a delegate to the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates and on the firm’s Executive Committee. She formerly chaired the Young Lawyers division of the Lancaster Bar Association. Sheila is an avid volunteer and has dedicated her time as a domestic violence hotline advocate; mentor to an incarcerated young adult; therapeutic riding assistant; and year-long volunteer at a peace and reconciliation organization in Northern Ireland.

Municipalities across Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester Counties have relied on David for sound solicitor’s counsel for over three decades. With broad experience advising on legislative, transactional, compliance, and litigation matters, David uses his comprehensive understanding of prevailing law and best practices in municipal management to help clients make smart, informed decisions. Dave has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer from 2022 through 2025 for State, Local & Municipal Law. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. He has acted as solicitor to numerous municipal entities, including townships, boroughs, zoning hearing boards, and related authorities. David leads the Firm’s representation of Kennett Township, Newtown Township (Bucks County), the Cheltenham Township Zoning Hearing Board, and the Plymouth Township Zoning Hearing Board, and plays an integral role supporting other municipal clients of the Firm. Over the years, municipal clients have also turned to David on critical litigation matters in Pennsylvania trial and appellate courts. David previously served as in-house counsel to a residential builder in Bucks County, and as a zoning and land use attorney at a Philadelphia law firm.

Mr. Hitchens is a non-equity shareholder with Kilkenny Law, LLC, which firm focuses on Municipal Law and Zoning & Land Use and represents over thirty different municipal entities including townships, boroughs, home rule municipalities, zoning hearing boards, and authorities located in Montgomery County, Bucks County, Delaware County, and Chester County. Mr. Hitchens primarily represents municipal clients in all aspects of municipal law including zoning and land use, code enforcement, Act 511 and business tax matters, property tax assessments, and compliance issues. As a municipal solicitor, he frequently attends public meetings and public hearings either to advise and assist municipal officials or to advocate on their behalf. In addition to representing several zoning hearing boards, Mr. Hitchens also appears before zoning hearing boards, tax hearing officers, magisterial district courts, and courts of common pleas on various matters ranging from municipal enforcement to zoning appeals and local tax collection. He has also argued before the Commonwealth Court and the Superior Court. Mr. Hitchens has given multiple presentations to municipal and legal groups including the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the Pennsylvania Business Privilege and Mercantile Tax Collectors Association, the Pennsylvania Boroughs’ Association, and the Montgomery County Consortium of Communities on various topics such as the zoning process and compliance. In addition to his legal work, Mr. Hitchens serves as a member of his local Zoning Hearing Board and is a Board Member on Wissahickon Trails, a non-profit land conservancy organization.

Mr. Gundlach is a partner in Fox Rothschild’s Real Estate Department and is a locally recognized authority in the field of Pennsylvania zoning and land use law. He is the past chair of the firm’s Real Estate Department and now co-chairs the firm’s Zoning and Land Use Group. Mr. Gundlach represents numerous developers, builders and property owners with their land use, zoning and subdivision/land development work in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, Northampton and Philadelphia counties. As part of his day to day work in the field of zoning and land use law, he represents clients with a broad range of matters, including applications to zoning hearing boards and boards of adjustment for variances, special exceptions and interpretations; rezonings, both map and text amendments; curative amendment and validity challenges, both substantive and procedural; subdivisions to create new building lots; land development for new projects and expansions to existing commercial and industrial buildings; and subdivision and land development waivers. Mr. Gundlach is active with the Home Builders Association of Bucks and Montgomery Counties (where he is on the Board of Directors and a member of the Government Affairs Committee), the Home Builders Association of Chester/Delaware Counties and the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia. He is also active with the International Council of Shopping Centers and NAIOP. Mr. Gundlach is a frequent lecturer and author on zoning and land use subjects in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Mr. Hitchens is a non-equity shareholder with Kilkenny Law, LLC, which firm focuses on Municipal Law and Zoning & Land Use and represents over thirty different municipal entities including townships, boroughs, home rule municipalities, zoning hearing boards, and authorities located in Montgomery County, Bucks County, Delaware County, and Chester County. Mr. Hitchens primarily represents municipal clients in all aspects of municipal law including zoning and land use, code enforcement, Act 511 and business tax matters, property tax assessments, and compliance issues. As a municipal solicitor, he frequently attends public meetings and public hearings either to advise and assist municipal officials or to advocate on their behalf. In addition to representing several zoning hearing boards, Mr. Hitchens also appears before zoning hearing boards, tax hearing officers, magisterial district courts, and courts of common pleas on various matters ranging from municipal enforcement to zoning appeals and local tax collection. He has also argued before the Commonwealth Court and the Superior Court. Mr. Hitchens has given multiple presentations to municipal and legal groups including the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the Pennsylvania Business Privilege and Mercantile Tax Collectors Association, the Pennsylvania Boroughs’ Association, and the Montgomery County Consortium of Communities on various topics such as the zoning process and compliance. In addition to his legal work, Mr. Hitchens serves as a member of his local Zoning Hearing Board and is a Board Member on Wissahickon Trails, a non-profit land conservancy organization.

Ms. Nase focuses her practice in representing developers, educational institutions, builders and property owners in connection with real estate matters, including transactional, zoning and land use, and related business matters in Pennsylvania. Her zoning and land use experience includes: applications to zoning hearing boards and zoning boards of adjustment for variances, special exceptions, conditional use approvals and zoning interpretations; rezonings, including both map and text amendments; curative amendments and validity challenges – both substantive and procedural; subdivisions to create new building lots; land development for new projects; securing zoning, subdivision and land development approvals; assisting developers in reviewing due diligence documents (residential or commercial) in transaction matters; and representing developers, builders and property owners in land use litigation. Ms. Nase’s transactional work includes: representing developers and homeowners in the acquisition, sale, leasing and financing of property, including the preparation and negotiations of agreements of sale, reviewing title issues, and reviewing and negotiating loan documents; preparation of easements; preparation of commercial leases for retail and office for both landlord and tenant; representing planned community associations and condominium associations; preparation of documents to form planned communities and condominiums, both residential and commercial; preparation and negotiation of loan documents; formation of corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies; representing clients in completing 1031 transactions; and preparing conveyance documents, including deeds, easements and declarations of covenants. She was selected as a “Pennsylvania Rising Star” by Philadelphia Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine (2006, 2007, 2008). Ms. Nase received her J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 2004 and her B.A. from Temple University in 2000. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. Her memberships include: Community Associations Institute; Home Builders Association of Bucks and Montgomery Counties; International Council of Shopping Centers; Philadelphia Building Industry Association, Government Affairs Committee; Urban Land Institute; and CORA Services, Inc., Governance Committee.

A graduate of Dickinson College and the Georgetown University Law Center, Mr. Creme is a partner with the firm of Nikolaus & Hohenadel LLP. A major component of the firm’s practice is in the area of municipal, zoning, land use and real estate development law. Mr. Creme leads the firm’s Municipal and Land Use Law Practice Group, which represents developers of residential, commercial and industrial properties in Lancaster and the surrounding counties in Pennsylvania. He is the solicitor for several municipalities and other municipal entities and frequently acts as special counsel to municipalities in Central Pennsylvania for zoning and land use issues. Mr. Creme is a member of the American, Pennsylvania, Lancaster and Berks County Bar Associations. He is a past President of the Lancaster Bar Association and Past Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. In June 2009, Mr. Creme was elected Vice President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and served as its 117th President in 2011-2012. He served as a member of the Act 47 Task Force of the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Local Government Commission, which has been charged with recommending revisions to the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act of 1987. Mr. Creme is actively involved in southcentral Pennsylvania non-profit organizations, has served as Board Chair of the American Red Cross of the Susquehanna Valley, the Lancaster County Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Resurrection Catholic School and Lancaster Catholic High School, and served on the boards of other community organizations. He frequently lectures on the topics of zoning, land use, municipal and administrative law.

Ms. London is a Shareholder with the firm of Kozloff Stoudt, Professional Corporation in Berks County, PA, practicing in the areas of municipal law, land use, employment law, and appellate practice. Born in Philadelphia, she is a graduate of Villanova University, with a BA and MA in Political Science, and a J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle. Ms. London is a member of the Berks County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations (PBA). She is past Chair of the Municipal Law Section of the PBA and served as a member of the PBA House of Delegates. Ms. London served as President of the Berks County Bar Association in 2018, served as its Treasurer from 2003 to 2006, and now serves as Co-Chair of its Municipal/Education/Environmental/Real Estate Section. Ms. London has planned and taught seminars and appeared in programs offered by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, the Albright College Center for Excellence in Local Government, the Berks County Bar Association, the Society for Human Resources Management, the PA Association of Sewage Enforcement Officers, the Pennsylvania Planning Association, and the Pennsylvania Housing Alliance. These programs have addressed topics including validity challenges to land use ordinances, zoning for agricultural preservation, the Sunshine Act, the Right to Know Law, wage and hour law, employment discrimination, ethics for professional land use planners, administrative search warrants, and blighted property remediation. Ms. London authored the chapter titled “Meetings and Records” for the Solicitor’s Handbook published by the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and co-authored a cover article for the May-June 2013 issue of The Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine titled “Emerging from the Red: What to do About Municipalities In Financial Trouble.”  She is a regular contributor to the Berks County Bar Association quarterly magazine, The Berks Barrister.