State Approves Shoreline Park, Rejects Hotel, in Burlingame
In 2019 the firm represents the SPHERE Institute in defeating a waterfront hotel proposal on state public trust land and wins state approval for Burlingame Shoreline Park in its place.
SF Homeless Navigation Center Defended
The firm assists the Office of the San Francisco City Attorney in successfully defending the San Francisco Port’s 2019 approval of the Embarcadero SAFE Navigation Center, a high-service shelter for adults experiencing homelessness. (Safe Embarcadero for All v. State of California (2019).)
SMW Helps Launch Affordable Senior Housing Project in Redwood City
The firm assists Midpen Housing Corporation in 2019 to secure land exchange agreements between the state, Redwood City, and private owners necessary to develop the Arroyo Green project, bringing 117 affordable senior housing units to downtown Redwood City.
Truckee Workforce Housing Support
The firm assists the Martis Fund in an innovative 2019 grant supporting development of 77 units of affordable housing in Truckee.
A Win for Public Health: Oil Wells Stalled in Arvin
Together with the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, the firm represents the Committee for a Better Arvin in a successful challenge to the City of Arvin’s approval of oil wells that would have threatened public health in a residential neighborhood. (Committee for a Better Arvin v. City of Arvin (2019).)
Property Purchase, Bridge Provide Needed Link Between State and Regional Parks In Alameda County
Photo Credit: SelfieCity, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons The firm assists the Tri-Valley Conservancy (TVC) in 2009 to acquire the Bobba property, a key linkage in Livermore between Del Valle State Park and Sycamore Grove Park. The firm then helps TVC in 2019 with funding, contracting, and construction of a bridge crossing to connect […]
SMW Drafts State Legislation to Facilitate Land Conservation and Restoration
Photo Credit: West Marin Environmental Action Committee from “Parks Are For Everyone” In 2019 the firm drafts and helps secure passage of state legislation enabling public agencies to acquire threatened lands and prepare an environmental review for restoration efforts after first protecting the land from development.
Coyote Valley Saved!
The firm works with the Peninsula Open Space Trust, the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, and the City of San Jose to preserve 937 acres in Coyote Valley for wildlife and open space in 2019. SMW partners Bill White, Tamara Galanter, and Sara Clark receive the 2020 California Lawyer’s Attorney of the Year (CLAY) […]
Limits on Lead and Cadmium in Chocolate
In 2018, on behalf of As You Sow, the firm settles its Proposition 65 case against the leading chocolate companies over lead and cadmium in chocolate products. The settlement establishes limits on the amount of lead and cadmium in these products and convened an expert panel to identify methods for reducing these levels.
Natural Gas Power Plant Denied
The firm represents the City of Oxnard in 2018 before the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission in its successful opposition to the location of a natural gas-fired power plant on the beach in Oxnard. This effort sets the stage for California’s adoption of energy storage and other preferred resources as a […]