Legislation Empowers Treasure Island Development Authority
The firm and the Office of the San Francisco City Attorney draft and the legislature passes the 1997 Treasure Island Conversion Act (AB 699), the enabling statute for the Treasure Island Development Authority, giving TIDA the power to redevelop and administer the former military base.
Point Reyes Water Quality Protected
The firm assists a coalition of conservation advocates in1996 in blocking expansion of the West Marin Sanitary Landfill in Point Reyes Station, which would have degraded water quality in the area.
SMW Advises Alameda on Cleanup and Reuse of Two Navy Bases
In 1996 the firm begins advising the City of Alameda on site cleanup of the former Naval Air Station and Fleet & Industrial Supply Center Navy bases and on environmental permitting and historical resources for site reuse. Large mixed-use projects come to fruition in 2006 and 2014.
IT Corporation Must Close Its Facility in Conformance With County Regulations
The firm advises the City of Benicia on the required environmental standards for closure of the Class I hazardous waste facility adjacent to the City, and files an amicus brief in the California Supreme Court arguing, as the Court rules, that the landfill operator is subject to County regulations. (IT Corporation v. Solano County, 1 […]
Environmental Review Required for Wetland Fill Permit
On behalf of Save the Bay and other environmental groups, the firm, together with the Attorney General’s office, prevails in a federal case holding that the Army Corps of Engineers must prepare an environmental impact statement for a permit to fill wetlands at the Oakland Airport site. (People of State of Calif. v. Marsh, 687 […]
Court of Appeal Rejects Redevelopment Agency’s Determination That Agricultural Area Is Blighted
The firm prevails in challenging a redevelopment plan that would have allowed industrial uses on productive agricultural land in Solano County. The appellate court reverses the trial court, holding that the Agency’s approval violated both the Community Redevelopment Law and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). (Emmington v. Solano County Redev’t Agency, 195 Cal.App.3d 491 […]
SMW Joins Individuals and Local Agencies in Opposing State’s Approval of Timber Harvest Plan
The Firm makes repeated trips to the Court of Appeal to extend the restraining order it obtained barring logging of redwood trees on property located on Lucas Valley Road in Marin County. Redwood trees prevail as a settlement is eventually reached with the forester. (County of Marin v. California Department of Forestry (1985).)
SMW Helps Residents Reduce Orange County Airport Impacts
In 1985 the firm negotiates an innovative settlement of litigation on behalf of Stop Polluting Our Newport and the Airport Working Group, challenging the expansion of John Wayne Airport in Orange County. The settlement establishes strict limits on the number of commercial flights, aircraft noise levels, and terminal size at John Wayne, considered to be […]
Court Halts Development of Odello Ranch in Monterey County
The firm succeeds in litigation challenging the Coastal Commission’s approval of sprawl development on Odello Ranch, a stunning rural area south of the Carmel River. (City of Carmel By-the-Sea v. California Coastal Commission (1985).)
Bay Conservation and Development Commission Authority Affirmed
The firm represents Save the Bay as an intervenor in an appellate case affirming the authority of the Bay Conservation & Development Commission (BCDC) to hold a landowner responsible for unauthorized bay fill on its property. (Leslie Salt Co. v. BCDC, 153 Cal.App.3d 605 (1984).)