SMW Protects Stanford Foothills
Thanks to advocacy by the firm and its client Committee for Green Foothills, Santa Clara County in 2000 adopts an “Academic Growth Boundary,” limiting Stanford University’s ability to expand into the foothills for 25 years.
Land Exchange Agreements Pave the Way for Creation of New Neighborhood at Mission Bay
The City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Port Commission in 1998 enter into land exchange agreements, negotiated with the assistance of the Firm, that enable the redevelopment of Mission Bay with housing, a medical center, and an array of other uses.
Preservation of Piazzoni Murals With Asian Art Museum’s Move to Civic Center’s Old Main Library
In 1998 the firm advises the Asian Art Museum Foundation regarding local, state, and federal historic preservation laws during its renovation of the Old Main Library and relocation of the Piazzoni murals to the De Young Museum.
Settlement Protects Thousands of Acres of Viticulture and Open Space, Leading to Plan that Ensures City Centered Growth
The firm helps the City of Livermore negotiate a complex settlement agreement that results in 1998 in the award-winning South Livermore Valley Specific Plan. The Plan allows focused development, curbs urban sprawl, and protects over 5,000 acres of viticulture and open space.
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.
Port of San Francisco Adopts First Waterfront Land Use Plan
The Firm represents the Port of San Francisco in a negotiation with the State Lands Commission and BCDC that results in 1997 in adoption of the Port’s first Waterfront Land Use Plan.
Major Report Advocates a Triple Bottom Line for Sierra Communities
The firm assists the Sierra Business Council in preparing its award-winning 1997 book, Planning for Prosperity, designed to help rural Sierra communities plan wisely and effectively for their future.
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.
California Supreme Court Upholds Napa County Initiative
The firm successfully defends Napa County in a California Supreme Court case challenging Measure J, a farmland protection initiative drafted by the firm. In a ground-breaking ruling, the court holds that voters have the right to amend general plans by initiative. (DeVita v. County of Napa, 9 Cal.4th 763 (1995).)
SMW Develops Novel Approach to Protecting Open Space
In 1993 the firm helps to develop the Tri-City and County Regional Park and Open Space Group, a first-of-its-kind joint powers agency of cities and a county to protect open space in Solano County. The agency later selects the firm to be its general counsel.