Santiago D. Echemendia has been a land use lawyer for 36 plus years. Throughout his career, he has concentrated on municipal law with an emphasis on land use/zoning and competitive bidding, including appeals, property rights, and governmental relations.

Fifteen years ago, he “stumbled” into the Out of Home business due, in part, to his zoning and local government experience, and has since developed an expertise in managing an Out of Home company, including permitting, development, operations, and sales.

He started by representing Outfront Media LLC in securing City Commission approval for their Billboard Settlement Agreement with the City of Miami, and subsequently entering into a Development and Settlement Agreement with them; he also procured a settlement agreement between, now SDE, and the City of Doral, pursuant to which he has developed, owns and operates billboards with traditional and digital faces..

He was involved in a First Amendment challenge to the City of Miami Gardens’ sign ordinance; a federal lawsuit challenging the City of Miami’s sign ordinance; numerous administrative hearings with the Florida Department of Transportation regarding billboard spacing and relocation issues; and numerous zoning hearings regarding billboard entitlements.

He has represented landowners on relocations, ground leases, easements, management agreements for City of Miami Murals, sign ordinances, and the development of billboards; and he manages development issues/initiatives, leases, operational issues, and sales for SDE.

He is regularly consulted with regarding the viability of Out of Home developments and is currently involved in billboard development projects.

A Martindale-Hubbell AV® attorney, Santiago has been recognized as a ‘Top Lawyer” by South Florida Legal Guide and has been listed by the Legal 500 in zoning.

He served as Board Counsel to the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, and as Special Counsel to the City of West Palm Beach, the City of Miami and the Town of Medley on its LED ordinance. He also served as Board Counsel to the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District.

Academic Degrees

• University of Miami, L.L.M. in Real Property, Land Development, and Finance
• Georgetown University, J.D.
• Georgetown University, B.A.

Bar Admissions

Florida Bar

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Professional And Civic Activities

• Member, Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Florida Outdoor Adverting Association, and the Independent Billboard Operators Association.
• Member, The Florida Bar
• Former Member, Miami-Dade Planning Advisory Board
• Former Board Member, South Florida Regional Planning Council
• Former Board Member, Miami-Dade Housing Finance Authority
• Former Member, Board of Directors of the FIU-Wolfsonian Museum

Recognition

• Martindale-Hubbell AV® Rated
• South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyers, 2009-2022
• Finalist, Top Dealmaker for the Camillus House Land Swap Transaction, MDBR, 2007
• Zoning recognition in the Legal 500, 2008 and 2009 editions

Languages

• Spanish