Team / CEO and Founder
Sean S. Suder, Esq., LEED AP
Lawyer. City planner. Zoning historian. Since 2014, Sean has led, managed, or worked on zoning code projects for more than 100 communities across more than 20 states.
513.694.7501 (direct) · 513.235.3470 (cell)
LinkedIn Education B.U.E.P., University of Virginia School of Architecture
J.D., University of Virginia School of Law Bar admissions Ohio, Kentucky, District of Columbia Recognition Chambers USA, Band 1, Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use, Ohio, 2019 to 2026
Background
Sean founded ZoneCo in 2020 after founding and leading two zoning consulting practices within large law firms. From 2010 to 2014 he served as Chief Counsel of Land Use and Planning for the City of Cincinnati, representing the municipal corporation and its officials in all planning, land use, zoning, historic preservation, and building matters. He was lead counsel for the award-winning Cincinnati Form-Based Code and Historic Preservation Ordinance.
He began his career in project management for one of the largest privately held construction management companies in the country. As a lawyer and city planner with 25 years in the built environment, he is a sought-after zoning and development consultant, and has been involved in some of the most complex developments in the United States.
Teaching, speaking, and writing
Sean is a frequent speaker and panelist on zoning, zoning history, land use law, and historic preservation law, and has presented at more than 30 APA conferences. In 2026 he gave the Bettman Lecture on 100 Years of Euclid v. Ambler at the APA National Planning Conference in Detroit. He is authoring a paper, "All Zoning is New York City Zoning: How New York City Shaped Communities Across America Since 1916," to be presented at the 21st National Conference on Planning History, October 15 to 18, 2026, at the University of Cincinnati.
He has served as Ohio faculty for the Form-Based Code Institute (201 level) and as a member of the FBCI Resource Council. He is an adjunct professor of land use law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and has guest lectured at UC's College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning and at Miami University. He serves on the Advisory Board of the APA Planning & Law Division Case Law Digest.
His articles have appeared in Planning Magazine, the Cincinnati Enquirer, Midwest Real Estate News, Cities & Villages Magazine, and Ohio Planners News. He has been quoted extensively, including in Governing Magazine, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Law practice
In addition to his work with ZoneCo, Sean is the founding partner of Suder, LLC, recognized as a Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers and a Chambers Spotlight firm for real estate in Ohio. He has been ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA in Ohio for Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use every year from 2019 to 2026, one of eight attorneys in the state and the only one in Southwest Ohio. He is licensed to practice law in Ohio, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia.
In the press
- Governing Magazine: Digital atlas reveals zoning's impact on affordable housing
- WVXU, Cincinnati Edition: Connected Communities is a done deal. What's next?
- UpZoned podcast
- Cincinnati Business Courier: My view on I-75 zoning
- CNU Public Square: Greenway, a planned community seeking identity
- Palm Beach Daily News and the Palm Beach Civic Association
- PhotoCorps and SoapBox Media
- Cincinnati Enquirer: Five ways the Amazon-Whole Foods deal may reshape real estate