Richard J. Bruckner

Richard Bruckner is a senior land use specialist in Mayer Brown's Los Angeles office. Richard advises investors and developers involved in residential, commercial and industrial real estate projects on complex land use laws, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance, state and local government interactions, and other strategic considerations to bring projects through to successful completion. 

Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Richard was director of Los Angeles County's Department of Regional Planning, which provides advance planning, current planning and land use regulation enforcement for the unincorporated area of the county, which has a population of approximately one million. Prior to that, he was the director of planning and development for the City of Pasadena for more than a decade, with responsibilities in citywide economic development, planning, building, code enforcement, cultural affairs, real estate and the management of eight redevelopment projects areas. Previous to his work for Pasadena, he served as the deputy executive director of the Community Development Department for the City of Anaheim, California. Richard’s background also includes serving as vice chair of the Oversight Board of the Successor Agency to the Culver City Redevelopment Agency; serving on the City of Arcadia Planning Commission, and helping to develop the current Hollywood Community Plan and Hollywood Community Redevelopment Plan during his time with the Community Redevelopment Agency.

Richard serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Local Advisory Board of the Urban Land Institute, the Advisory Board of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, and serving as Vice President of Heritage Housing Partners.

• Representing Watt Investment Partners with due diligence and entitlements on multiple projects in and around Southern California, including obtaining entitlements for the Metro Joint Development Program at the Expo/Crenshaw Station with a 400 unit mixed-use projects, and the acquisition and entitlement of an office building in Los Angeles that was converted into a medical office building.
• Representing AvalonBay Communities with its land use entitlements in Southern California, including with a 475-unit mixed-use project in the Arts District, a ballot measures initiative in the City of Calabasas, and with its proposal to develop the West L.A. Civic Center and Courthouse sites with a 1,000-unit mixed-use project, in response to a County and City of Los Angeles Request for Proposal.

• Ohio State University, MA, City and Regional Planning
• Hartwick College, BA

• Urban Land Institute, Advisory Board Member, Los Angeles District
• University of Southern California (USC) Lusk Center for Real Estate, Advisory Board Member
• Vice President, Heritage Housing Partners
• Planning Commission, City of Arcadia (1996-2001)
• First Tee, Pasadena, Advisory Board of Directors
• Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, Board Member
• The Ohio State University, City and Regional Planning Advisory Committee Member