Alberto Jose Torres

Overview

Alberto Jose Torres is a Senior Planner who advises clients on complex land use, zoning, and entitlement matters throughout Miami-Dade County and South Florida. With more than four decades of experience spanning senior roles in both the public and private sectors, Alberto helps developers, property owners, institutional clients, and legal teams navigate regulatory frameworks, secure development approvals, and position projects for long-term success. He operates at the intersection of planning policy and legal strategy, translating regulatory requirements into practical, outcome-driven solutions.

Alberto advises clients on comprehensive plan analysis, zoning and code interpretation, impact fees, environmental considerations, concurrency, and development permitting. He supports due diligence efforts, prepares entitlement strategies, and assists with presentations before administrative bodies and quasi-judicial boards. He is also frequently retained as an expert witness in eminent domain and land use litigation, providing clear and authoritative testimony grounded in decades of regulatory experience.

Prior to joining Gunster, Alberto spent nearly 18 years as a senior land use consultant in the Miami office of a nationally recognized, Am Law-ranked law firm. Working alongside firm partners and shareholders, he played a central role in structuring and advancing complex entitlement strategies for large-scale residential, mixed-use, commercial, and industrial developments throughout South Florida. His responsibilities included leading zoning and comprehensive plan analyses, coordinating multidisciplinary consultant teams, interfacing directly with municipal and county staff, advising clients on regulatory risk and policy interpretation, and preparing major development applications and legislative amendments. In many respects, he functioned as a strategic advisor equivalent in scope and responsibility to senior firm leadership, helping position projects for approval at both the administrative and policy-making levels.

Before entering private practice, Alberto served as Assistant Director and Zoning Official for Miami-Dade County, where he directed countywide zoning operations, drafted and implemented land use ordinances, advised the Board of County Commissioners, managed interlocal zoning agreements, and oversaw a multi-million-dollar departmental budget. His public-sector leadership experience provides clients with deep insight into governmental decision-making, regulatory administration, and policy development at the highest levels.

Alberto holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Florida International University and earned both a Master of Management and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He is a Florida Registered Paralegal and has completed executive education coursework at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.