Neil Lindberg has joined the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) at Brigham Young University as Senior Fellow. He and his wife, Senior District Judge Denise Lindberg (ret.), have been named Co-Directors of an ICLRS initiative to the Organization of American States in Washington, DC.
After receiving a Bachelors degree in Sociology from Brigham Young University, Mr. Lindberg, a Southern California native, joined the city planning staff of the City of Norwalk, California. He later joined the Community Development Department of Provo City, then the second largest city in Utah. During his 14-year tenure with Provo Mr. Lindberg rose from Senior Planner to Assistant Department Director and earned a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) degree. Looking to expand his horizons, Mr. Lindberg returned to law school, receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1990.
For nearly 30 years Mr. Lindberg’s law practice focused on zoning, land use, land development, and municipal law. For 5 years he was associated with a Washington DC area law firm that represented major developers on zoning and land development matters. Returning to Provo City, Mr. Lindberg worked for 14 years as the Municipal Council Attorney and for 5 years as the Council Attorney to the Salt Lake City Council. Following retirement from Salt Lake City Mr. Lindberg became “of counsel” with the Salt Lake City law firm of York Howell & Guymon. In his practice Mr. Lindberg negotiated numerous land development agreements and advised private developers and local governments on zoning and land development matters such as impact fees, Takings law, transferable development rights, and regulation of group homes. He is an expert in drafting, revising, and updating municipal land development codes, and on legislative and executive “separation of power” issues.
Mr. Lindberg lectured frequently on zoning and land development issues at planning and municipal law conferences. He served for several years on the Board of Directors of the Utah Land Use Institute, an organization dedicated to bridging the divide between land developers and local governments.