Legislation Will Enable Affordable Housing on San Francisco Port Property
The state legislature in 2012 enacts legislation (AB 2649) drafted by the firm on behalf of the Port of San Francisco, paving the way for development of the 88 Broadway project, which will convert a former parking lot into 125 units of affordable housing.
Settlement Protects Foresthill Community in Placer County
Photo Credit: jen, Flickr, CC BY 2.0 After filing litigation, the firm negotiates a settlement for the Foresthill community in Placer County that limits sprawl development on sensitive rural lands in a high fire risk area and provides protection for the American River. (Foresthill Residents for Responsible Growth v. Placer County (2011).)
Largest Brownfields Renewal Project in San Francisco Approved at Hunters Point
On behalf of the former San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the firm negotiates land exchange agreements with the state that will enable the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Candlestick Point to be developed with 300 acres of new parks and more than 12,000 housing units, over 30% of them affordable. The firm drafted the state […]
Exploratorium Project Breathes New Life Into Historic San Francisco Pier
The Exploratorium project at historic Pier 15 is approved in 2010 after the firm helps the Port of San Francisco win the support of the State Lands Commission for the project, and becomes one of the most iconic attractions in San Francisco.
SMW and California Trout Secure Greater Flows for Endangered Steelhead
As a result of litigation filed by the firm on behalf of California Trout, the owner of the Vern Freeman Diversion Dam agrees to allow greater water flows into the Santa Clara River to protect steelhead, an endangered migratory fish species. (California Trout, Inc. v. Bureau of Reclamation (2009).)
SMW Helps Defeat Nestle’s Controversial Water-Bottling Plant on McCloud River
Photo Credit: Curtis Knight After years of pressure from California Trout and Trout Unlimited, groups represented by the firm, the Nestle Company in 2009 agrees to withdraw its plans to build a water-bottling plant on the McCloud River, one of the greatest trout-fishing rivers in the world. Firm partner Rachel Hooper receives the California Lawyer’s […]
Donner Summit Recreation Lands and Open Space Protected
In 2008 the firm advises Sierra Watch and the Sierra Club in their successful efforts to stop urban development on open space and cross country ski trails on Donner Summit.
SMW Stops Massive Port of Stockton Expansion Project and Mitigates Environmental Impacts
The firm secures a federal injunction stopping the Port of Stockton’s hastily started expansion. After a second victory in state court, the firm in 2007 negotiates dramatic reductions in the project’s air and water pollution. (Deltakeeper v. Port of Stockton.)
Legislation Authorizes Infill on San Francisco Port Parking Lots
The firm drafts legislation for the Port of San Francisco, passed by the California Legislature in 2007 (SB 815), authorizing a broad range of housing and other urban uses on Seawall Lots that are vacant or used for surface parking, and creating new revenue opportunities to allow the Port to rehabilitate its threatened historic finger […]
A Lifeline for a Rare Salamander
Photo credit: Gary Nafis With the firm’s help, the Environmental Protection Information Center, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, and the Center for Biological Diversity bring successful litigation against the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to restore protection for the Scott Bar Salamander under the California Endangered Species Act. (Environmental Protection Information Center v. CDFW (2007).)