Objective Design Standards Take On New Importance Under State Law
Developing Objective Design Standards (ODS) is a critical tool in your planning and zoning toolbox. Creating ODS can sound daunting, but it need not be. We explain why they are necessary, useful, and how ODS can help your community enable the development it wants to see.
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger Welcomes New Urban Planner Kristi Bascom
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger is pleased to announce the addition of a new urban planner, Kristi Bascom. “Kristi is a fantastic addition to our firm,” said Richard S. Taylor, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger’s managing partner. “She brings expertise in public agency planning, CEQA, and affordable housing. We are lucky to have her on the team.” […]
SB 244: Focus on Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities in Land Use Planning
Systemic issues in land use planning have historically plagued small, low-income, unincorporated communities on the urban fringe. SB 244 took a first step to address the legal, financial, and political barriers affecting disadvantaged unincorporated communities in California. This article describes SB 244 requirements and looks at implementation progress.
A New Home For Redwood National and State Park Visitor Center
Working closely with the State Coastal Conservancy and environmental consultants, the firm in 2020 helps secure the approval of the Redwood National and State Park Visitor Center and Restoration Project in Humboldt County. The new visitor’s center provides a state-of-the-art facility for visitors to learn about and explore the area’s magnificent old-growth redwood forests.
SMW Represents CFROG Through General Plan Update Process
With the Firm’s help, Climate First: Replacing Oil and Gas (CFROG) successfully advocates in 2020 for Ventura County General Plan policies establishing some of the nation’s strongest health and safety buffer zones around new oil and gas development. The firm also supports CFROG in their fight for adequate environmental review of new oil wells and […]
Court Overturns Sprawl Development in Wildfire Risk Zone
The firm successfully challenges San Diego County’s 2019 approval of the Harmony Grove Village South Project, which would have brought sprawl development to a fire-prone, rural area of the County.
Developer Withdraws Plans for San Diego County Sprawl Project
Thanks in large part to the firm’s advocacy on behalf of the Endangered Habitats League, in 2019 an applicant withdraws its plans to develop the Warner Ranch project just before it was slated for its hearing before the San Diego County Planning Commission. The project, widely recognized as yet another leapfrog development in San Diego’s […]
Conservationists Set Sights on Preserving a Petaluma Historic Ranch, Enhancing a Regional Park
Working closely with the Earth Island Institute’s Kelly Creek Protection Project, in 2018 the firm negotiates an innovative purchase and sale agreement with a property owner that will limit development on an environmentally and historically sensitive parcel of land and extend Sonoma County’s Helen Putnam Regional Park.
SMW Protects General Plans and Referendum Power in California Supreme Court
The firm prevails in a landmark case before the California Supreme Court that upholds the people’s right of referendum and confirms the primacy of the city’s General Plan. (Orange Citizens for Parks & Recreation v. Superior Court, 2 Cal.5th 141 (2016).)
Quarry Transformed into Park
The firm advises the City of Saratoga in acquiring a former quarry to be redeveloped as a park subject to a conservation easement and in subsequent park planning and operations. The park opens in 2015 and in 2020 the City opens a trail providing access to Sanborn County Park and, from there, to open space […]