Voters in San Juan Capistrano Pass Referendum of Gated Subdivision on Wetlands
Voters in San Juan Capistrano in 2002 pass a referendum, drafted by the firm, reversing the City’s approval of “Whispering Hills,” a gated subdivision that would have filled wetlands and cut a road through prominent ridgelines.
Successful Negotiations Protect American River Water Resources
The firm assists the Water Forum in its adoption in 2000 of a landmark agreement among multiple stakeholders that sets the allocation of water from the American River Watershed.
Tahoe Jet Ski Ban Upheld
The firm defeats a federal court challenge to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s imposition of a ban on jet skis. As a result, U.S. manufacturers cease producing 2-stroke polluting engines. (Lake Tahoe Watercraft Recreation Assn. v. TRPA, 24 F.Supp.2d 1062 (1998).)
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.
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.
Firm Helps Giants Ballpark Get Off the Ground
The San Francisco Giants ballpark at China Basin breaks ground in 1997 after the Port of San Francisco, with the firm’s help, successfully negotiates a design that the state finds consistent with the tidelands trust.
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.
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.
Public Health Threat Removed
In 1994 the firm represents Rodeo residents in opposing the Pacific Refinery Company’s plan to increase the output of a refinery whose emissions threaten public health. As a result of legal issues raised by the firm, the refinery eventually decides to shut down.
Important Wetlands Protected
The firm represents Save the Bay and the National Audubon Association as intervenors in the successful defense, in the Ninth Circuit, of the Army Corps of Engineers’ jurisdiction over property that government actions had helped make aquatic. (Leslie Salt Co. v. U.S, 896 F.2d 354 (9th Cir. 1990).)