If you won't use it to create layers then there is no need to use it at all. Sometimes I see tags like that: <DIV align="center"></DIV>. That's the worst way of centering things I've ever seen.
But I don't think this has anything to do with your question. I just wanted to share my opinion.
Anyway, about your question. IMO, <DIV> tag shouldn't have any bad effects on onsite-SEO. It's a crawlable tag used (mostly) with static content after all.