Thomas J. Baird

Florida Bar Board Certified as a City, County and Local Government Attorney
Martindale-Hubbell 'AV' Rated Attorney

Tom Baird is certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in City, County and Local Government Law and has extensive experience in the areas of planning and zoning law/litigation including takings and property rights law. He served as an Assistant County Attorney for Palm Beach County and was responsible for the Department of Planning, Zoning and Building.  He is the current Town Attorney for the Towns of Jupiter and Lake Park, and serves as General Counsel to the Westgate/Belvedere Homes Community Redevelopment Agency. He serves as a Special Magistrate for the Cities of Boca Raton, North Palm Beach, Stuart and Pahokee.

Mr. Baird has a B.A. in American Studies from Heidelberg University (Ohio) and a Masters of Public Administration degree with a specialization in Growth Management (planning) from Florida Atlantic University. His experience as a planner involves an internship with the City of Pompano Beach, and employment as a Regional Planner by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. In his planning career, Mr. Baird was responsible for the preparation of Development of Regional Impact Reports and the review of hundreds of comprehensive plans and plan amendments. He is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners. 

He graduated from Nova University's College of Law in 1984 where he was a Research Editor of the Law Review.  As a lawyer he has represented counties, municipalities and developers in legal matters in state and federal courts and in administrative procedings before state, regional and local governmental agencies. He has authored code enforcement legislation, charter amendments, zoning codes and comprehensive plan amendments.

Mr. Baird has taught growth management and administrative law as an Adjunct Professor at the Florida Institute of Technology and Florida Atlantic University.

From 2005-2010, he was a Director of the Third Federal Savings and Loan Association of Cleveland MHC and TFS Financial Corporation.  He is a member of the Roger Dean Stadium Advisory Board and the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association.