Thomas A. Cloud

Practice Areas

Administrative and Regulatory

Land Use Law

Utilities

Government

Environmental and Sustainability Law

Career

Tom has been a local and state government, utility, land use, and environmental law attorney for over four decades. Board-certified by The Florida Bar in City, County and Local Government Law, Tom has represented over 100 Florida cities, including six as city attorney. His practice includes negotiating complex contracts, drafting dozens of city and county legislative initiatives and ordinances, creating and defending municipal rates, fees, assessments, and charges, obtaining state and local government regulatory approvals, and all matters attendant to the acquisition, development, and utilization of both real property and business acquisitions and sales. He has been responsible for the application and approval of over 25 Developments of Regional Impact throughout central Florida, as well as dozens of other complex land use matters. Tom has handled a variety of matters directly involving regional planning councils throughout Florida, including comprehensive plan amendments, DRI reviews, interlocal planning agreements, and agreements between RPCs and local governments. Tom helped create and served as the first general counsel to the Volusia Growth Management Commission, a charter-created intergovernmental entity that reviewed plan amendments within Volusia County. In addition to handling state administrative, municipal, land use, and environmental matters, Tom is one of the preeminent municipal utility attorneys in Florida, having successfully handled a wide variety of both transactional and litigation matters within the field. He has handled a variety of complex municipal, county, and special district financial transactions, including the defense of various capital and operational rates, fees, assessments, and charges. Tom has written, presented, and published dozens of articles on a variety of local government topics for various sections of The Florida Bar, Stetson Law Review, and other publications.

Tom currently serves as city attorney for four cities across Central Florida and as general counsel to the Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach. He previously served as president of the Florida Municipal Attorneys Association, and has represented hundreds of cities and counties throughout Florida in a variety of legal matters since 1980.

Professional Memberships

Florida Municipal Attorneys Association

The Florida Bar, Environmental and Land Use Law Section, City, County and Local Government Law Section, Governmental and Public Policy Advocacy Committee

American Bar Association

Florida League of Cities, Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Legislative Policy Committee

Publications

“Lakeland Approves Massive Solar Farm Near Florida Polytechnic University,” Lakeland Now, December 18, 2023

“Lake Wales Commissioners Expected to Vote on Code Revision, Clearing Way for Pipe Plant,” The Ledger, April 17, 2023

“Fla. Town Says City Breached Water Services Contract,” Law360, April 4, 2023

“Importance of a Feasibility Study for City of Pensacola,” Pensacola News Journal, February 10, 2022

“Pensacola inches closer to creating electric utility amid anger toward FPL rate increase,” Pensacola News Journal, January 27, 2022

Education

Awards