Steven Hultberg is a land use and real estate attorney who represents developers, institutional clients, and public entities on complex projects throughout Oregon. His practice focuses on helping clients move projects from early-stage strategy through final approval—while managing the regulatory, infrastructure, and entitlement issues that can affect feasibility, timing, and long-term value.

Steve is routinely engaged on projects involving significant constraints, including challenging regulatory frameworks, infrastructure limitations, and contested approvals. He works closely with clients and project teams to identify potential obstacles early and develop practical strategies to keep projects moving forward. His experience spans the full lifecycle of development, including acquisition diligence, entitlement, and, when necessary, defense of approvals in administrative and appellate proceedings.

Steve has extensive experience with large-scale and high-profile projects, including master-planned developments, destination resorts, institutional expansions, and mixed-use commercial projects. He secured approval of the Oregon State University–Cascades campus master plan, a long-range entitlement allowing for the redevelopment and expansion of a complex site with significant infrastructure considerations. He also regularly represents resort and master-planned communities in connection with expansion efforts, regulatory issues, and appeals, including successful defense of approvals before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

In addition, Steve advises clients on urban growth boundary expansions, comprehensive plan amendments, and long-term planning strategies, and has assisted developers in navigating contentious entitlement processes for retail, hospitality, residential, and mixed-use developments. His practice also includes representing clients before LUBA and the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Steve’s approach is grounded in providing practical, business-oriented advice. He works to align project objectives with applicable regulatory frameworks, build strong and defensible approval records, and resolve issues efficiently before they become obstacles. Clients rely on him for his ability to identify risk, navigate complexity, and provide clear guidance that supports both immediate approvals and long-term project success.

Steve has been recognized by Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America for his work in land use and zoning.

Before joining Radler White Parks & Alexander LLP, Steve practiced land use and real estate law at Perkins Coie LLP. He also served as a law clerk for the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, where he developed a foundation in administrative and appellate review of land use decisions.

Steve is actively involved in land use and infrastructure planning at the local level, including serving as Chair of Bend’s Citywide Transportation Advisory Committee and participating in advisory efforts related to growth and infrastructure planning.

He received his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law and his B.S. from the University of Oregon.

Steve secured approval of Oregon State University-Cascades’ 128-acre campus master plan from the City of Bend, which will allow the university to expand to 5,000 students over the next 15 years. The campus expansion encompasses a 46-acre former pumice mine property and a 72-acre former Deschutes County landfill. The combined properties allow the university to reclaim unusable land for sustainable development and create a long-term community and regional asset.

Steve represented the largest destination resort in Central Oregon in connection with Deschutes County’s destination resort map amendments. He secured approval to add a 600 acre tract to the County’s inventory and successfully defended the County’s decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. Steve is currently securing land use approvals to expand the Caldera Springs Destination Resort in Deschutes County.

Steve helped a large destination resort complete a complex and contentious land exchange with the governing homeowners’ association that allowed the resort to consolidate its core resort holdings. Steve also represented a timber company with the disposition of its Central Oregon holdings totaling over 100,000 acres of timberland.

Steve assisted a national hotel developer to obtain land use and variance approvals for a new hotel in Bend’s Old Mill District.

Steve represented a lifestyle center developer through a contentious approval process to build a 300,000 square foot re-developed center and successfully defended the entitlements on appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals.

Steve represents a large national homebuilder in connection with the City of Bend’s Urban Growth Boundary expansion.

Steve successfully defended the City of Bend’s land use approvals for Oregon State University’s Bend campus before the Oregon Court of Appeals and Oregon Supreme Court. He currently represents the university in connection with its long-term planning efforts in Bend and Corvallis.

  • Chambers USA, Industry Leader, Land Use and Zoning Law, 2010-present
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, 2010-present
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Land Use and Zoning Law, 2010-present