Cory M. Rutz

Cory Rutz represents property owners and developers in the acquisition and entitlement of commercial, residential and industrial projects. Cory’s practice includes assisting clients with local government approval of annexations, subdivisions, rezonings and development agreements. Her recent work includes advising clients on incorporating various types of short-term rental uses into their properties. With joint degrees in law and urban planning, Cory is also a certified member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). She fundamentally understands the real-world challenges and implications of her clients’ work, and she focuses on offering pragmatic solutions aimed at accomplishing their individual goals.

In addition to her land use practice, Cory works with clients on purchase and sale agreements, common interest community plans, construction contracts, public-private partnerships and related financing matters. Her transactional work includes representing private landowners, real estate developers and corporate clients across the Front Range.

Cory co-chairs the firm’s Land Use and Real Estate Development Practice Group. She teaches Planning Law and Institutions at the University of Colorado Denver School of Architecture and Planning, and serves on the board of directors for Urban Peak, a nonprofit that enables youth experiencing homelessness to access essential services—housing, healthcare, education, and job training—that lay the groundwork for lasting independence. Cory is a frequent writer and speaker at regional and national land use law conferences, is the immediate past chair of the Planning and Law Division of the American Planning Association (APA), and also serves on the APA’s Amicus Committee. Before starting law school, Cory worked as a resin engineer for a global supplier of paints, coatings and other chemicals.