EXPERIENCE

Thomas A. Cloud is a shareholder in the law firm on GrayRobinson and is the head of the firm's Public Law Department. He is currently serving as Special Counsel to the Citrus County Property Appraiser for litigation. He is or has been City Attorney for Edgewood, Wauchula, Fort Meade and Polk City. He has extensive state and local government experience in municipal, public infrastructure, energy, water, environmental, land use, and all aspects of utilities law. Mr. Cloud has represented a variety of cities, land owners, developers, industrial clients, public and private utilities, individuals, and local governments. These include:

Cities:

• Apopka
• Atlantis
• Bartow
• Belleair
• Bunnell
• Cape Coral
• Casselberry
• Daytona Beach
• Eagle Lake
• Edgewood
• Fellsmere
• Fort Meade
• Fruitland Park
• Groveland
• Haines City
• Hollywood
• Howey-in-the-Hills
• Kissimmee
• Lakeland
• Lake Mary
• Lantana
• Longwood
• Maitland
• Manalapan
• Marathon
• Marco Island
• Melbourne
• New Smyrna Beach
• North Port
• Orlando
• Orlando Utilities Commission
• Oviedo
• Palatka
• Palm Bay
• Palm Beach
• Palm Springs
• Plant City
• Polk City
• Port St. Lucie
• Riviera Beach
• Royal Palm Beach
• Sanibel
• Sebastian
• South Bay
• South Palm Beach
• South Pasadena
• Space Coast League of Cities
• Tampa
• Umatilla
• Valparaiso
• Vero Beach
• Wauchula
• Winter Park

Counties:

• Bay
• Brevard
• Charlotte
• Citrus
• DeSoto
• Flagler
• Lake
• Martin
• Marion
• Orange
• Seminole
• VGMC

Mr. Cloud has extensive experience in the following areas:

Municipal:

• Charters/Home Rule
• Annexations
• Contractions
• Franchises
• Public Officers
• Public Records

Land Use/Environmental:

• Comp Plans
• DRIs
• Rezonings
• Site Plans
• Impact Fees
• Special Districts
• Permits
• Special Facility Siting
• Administrative/Judicial Litigation

Utilities:

• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Territorial Disputes
• Start Ups
• Franchises
• Rate Setting
• System Permitting
• Bulk Sales Contracts
• Developer Contracts
• Refundable Advance Contracts
• Administrative/Judicial Litigation

BACKGROUND

Mr. Cloud is a native Floridian hailing from Lakeland, Florida. He graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with a Bachelors of Arts, magna cum laude with Honors in History in 1976, and received his Juris Doctorate with Honors from Florida State University in 1979. Tom has been a practicing attorney in Orlando since 1979, focusing on municipal law, environmental and land use law, local government law, public utilities law and administrative law.

EDUCATION

• Lakeland High School (1972)
• Wake Forest University, B.A. (magna cum laude, Honors in History, 1976)
• Florida State University, J.D. (Honors, 1979)

LECTURES AND PUBLICATIONS

For 30 years, Mr. Cloud has been a frequent author and lecturer in Florida on a variety of municipal, land use, and legal topics.

• Bar Journal Article, "Allocating Limited Sewage Treatment Plant Capacity," February, 1982
• ELULS Manual, Volume I & II, Co-Editor, 1986
• 11th FMAA Annual Seminar, Amelia Island Plantation, "A Brief Overview of Florida Municipal Franchise Law," July, 1992
• 18th FMAA Annual Seminar, Amelia Island Plantation, "Turf Wars: A Brief Study of Water and Sewer Service Area Authority and Disputes in Florida," July, 1999
• 22nd FMAA Annual Seminar, Amelia Island Plantation, "Birch Rods in the Cupboard: Municipal Franchise Purchase Options in Florida," July, 2003
• ELULS Article, "Public Facilities and Land Development Contracts," 2005
• 24th FMAA Annual Seminar, Amelia Island Plantation, "Turf Wars 2005: A Brief Study of Water and Sewer Service Area Authority and Disputes in Florida," July, 2005
• Stetson Law Review, "Birch Rods in the Cupboard: The Link Between Municipal Franchise Purchase Options and Franchise Fees in Florida" Vol. 35, No. 2, Winter 2006
• 27th FMAA Annual Seminar, Key Largo, "Standing to Sue and Florida Cities," July, 2008
• 28th FMAA Annual Seminar, Bonita Springs, "Defense of Municipal Rates in Florida," July, 2009
• Land Use Law Conference, Tampa, "Annexation and Contraction: A Brief Essay on the Florida Law of Municipal Boundaries," August, 2009
• Land Use Law Conference, Jacksonville, "Case Law Update: What you Need to Know About Recent Decisions and Trends," May, 2010
• 30th FMAA Annual Seminar, West Palm Beach, "500 Years of Florida Cities," July, 2011
• Florida League of Cities 2011 Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, "2011 Growth Management Law Changes: City Impacts," August, 2011
• 31st FMAA Annual Seminar, Marco Island, "Formation, Annexation, Dissolution and Contraction: The Florida Law of Municipal Territory and Its Boundaries," July, 2012

PROFESSIONAL

• Florida Bar
  • Environmental and Land Use Law Section, 1990-present
    • Executive Council, 1981-present
    • Chairman, 1987-1988
  • City, County and Local Government Law Section
• Florida Municipal Attorneys Association, Executive Council
• American Bar Association
• Selected as Florida's "Legal Elite" by Florida Trend Magazine, 2004-2005
• Selected as top Attorney by Super Lawyers, 2006-2007
• Best Lawyers in America, 2012-2013

CIVIC

• Florida Chamber Growth Management Leadership Committee
• Boone High School Foundation Member, Board of Directors
• Wake Forest University National Alumni Council
• Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce Leadership Programs, Board of Directors
• Mid-Florida Homebuilders Association, Program Committee
• Leadership Orlando Program, Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce
• Leadership Central Florida Program
• Leadership Florida Program
• Lake Apopka Restoration Council
• Music Mission Kiev, Board of Directors
• Orange County Historical Commission
• First Florida Battery, Inc., Board of Directors
• Historic Lakeland, Inc.
• Historical Society of Central Florida, Inc., Board of Directors