Mark Bentley

Experience

Mark Bentley practices in the area of land use, eminent domain and property rights.  He is a former planning director and has represented numerous private property owners against various governmental condemning authorities in eminent domain matters.  He also practices in the areas of administrative law and legal matters. Mark  taught land use law as an adjunct professor for the University of South Florida’s Urban and Regional Master’s Degree Program, and now serves on the program’s Urban Planning Advisory Board.  Mark also serves as a special master involving disputed land use cases under Florida’s Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act.  He is a frequent speaker at various seminars and events in the Tampa Bay area, as well as throughout the state of Florida and nationally, primarily focusing on eminent domain and land use law.

Distinctions and Memberships 

• A/V Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Board Certified by The Florida Bar, City County & Local Government Law
• Member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1989
• Florida Super Lawyer since 2008
• The Best Lawyers in America© since 2011
• Legal Elite 2015 Florida Trend Magazine
• Tampa Bay Magazine’s Best Lawyers since 2010
• Tampa Magazine’s Top Lawyers List 2018 – #1 by his peers in Litigation: Land Use & Zoning
• Tampa Magazine’s Top Lawyers List 2019 – #1 by his peers in Land Use and Zoning, and Eminent Domain
• Tampa Magazine’s Top Lawyers List 2021 – #1 by his peers in Land Use and Zoning, and Land Use and Zoning Litigation

Education

• University of Florida, B.A. in Political Science with honors
• University of Florida, Master of Arts in Political Science with honors
• Stetson University College of Law, J.D., cum laude, Associate Editor of Stetson Law Review