Entitlement Essentials: Navigating the Land Use Process for Smooth Development

Khayree Duckett is a public affairs associate with Dominium Development & Acquisitions. In this role, he is responsible for supporting Dominium’s relationships with partners in government, industry, and philanthropy. Prior to joining Dominium in 2020, Duckett most recently advocated for property rights and homeownership as the government affairs director for the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS®. Previously, he began his career by working on campaigns for Senator Chuck Grassley, Governor John Kasich, and in the Iowa and Minnesota Legislatures.

Duckett earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in and his professional affiliations include The Real Estate Council (TREC) Dallas and the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers (TAAHP). He serves on the Community Housing Resource Partners board of directors and is also a contributor to the Dominium Employee Emergency Fund, which assists Dominium employees financially in recovering from fires, floods, hurricanes, and other uncontrollable life-altering events.

Khayree and his wife Brittany are active members of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Community in Carrollton, Texas. They enjoy playing pickleball, board games, and are avid fans of Tottenham Hotspur.

Jasen is the Director of Community Development for the City of Wylie where he has worked since January 2007. He works to provide the employees within the Planning and Building Inspections departments with the tools they need to serve the citizens and property owners of Wylie. He is the staff liaison for the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Zoning Board of Adjustments, and the Historic Review Commission.

He joined the Marine Corps straight out of High School and served in a reconnaissance unit during Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm. He later graduated from the University of Texas – Dallas with a BS in Public Administration. His first post-collegiate job was at the North Central Texas Council of Governments as a freight goods movement transportation planner. He then left NCTCOG to join the City of Wylie as an assistant planner and has somehow managed to earn a promotion every few years.

He is married to his wife of 20 years, has two children, one at Texas Tech and one at Wylie High School, two cats, and two dogs. He enjoys reading, sport shooting, traveling, and learning random new things.

Logan Sparrow is the Interim Assistant Director for the Development Services Department’s Land Development division. He holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Texas San Antonio and has been with the City for over 10 years. He has experience managing teams in land entitlements, zoning, and policy administration.

Daniel Ortiz is a founding member of Ortiz McKnight PLLC and has been practicing Municipal Land Use Planning, Zoning, Public Law, and Development Permitting in San Antonio and South Texas since 2004. He previously served as President of a boutique land use firm in San Antonio. Daniel has guided medium-to- large scale projects that aim to create progressive development patterns through the entitlement and public/private financing process. Daniel was a member of the consultant team that implemented the 500-acre “Preserve” Development, which called for a non-annexation agreement, development agreement, and the creation of a Public Improvement District with the City of San Antonio and Bexar County. In addition, Daniel was part of the consultant team hired by the San Antonio River Authority to develop a master plan for the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone area in San Antonio. For the Economic Redevelopment Advisory and Program Implementation Team, Daniel provided firsthand entitlement experience to evaluate existing economic development policies, programs and departments; reviewed potential economic strategies and the implementation plan to comply with existing local development codes and state law; and, provided the team with needed understanding of local stakeholder issues (including outreach in Spanish as necessary).