Updates and Articles
SMW Authors National Best Practice Guide for Renewable Energy Interconnection
The firm prepares major updates to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's Model Interconnection Procedures in 2019. States across the country now look to this publication when seeking to improve the ability of distributed energy resources to access the grid.
Read MoreCalifornia Improves Ability to Host New Renewable Energy Resources
Thanks in large part to the firm's advocacy on behalf of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, in 2019 California radically increases transparency regarding the ability of the distribution system to host new renewable energy resources.
Read MoreHalf Moon Bay Adopts Minimum Wage Ordinance
With the firm's assistance, the City of Half Moon Bay in 2019 becomes the 50th city in the nation to adopt a local minimum wage ordinance.
Read MoreSMW Serves as General Counsel to Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District
The firm begins serving as General Counsel to the Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District in 2019.
Read MoreA 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).)
Read MoreProperty 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 two trails within the park and provide critical and accessible outdoor recreational...
Read MoreSMW 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.
Read MoreUnderstanding Recent Changes to Local Initiative Processes
The California Constitution enshrines the rights of voters both to propose new laws and to respond to those passed by their elected officials. The laws regarding such initiatives and referenda are complex and ever-evolving, and the last year was no exception. A published appellate court decision clarified the intersection of development agreements and initiatives, and a change to the elections code has provided public...
Read MoreTips for Complying with the FPPC’s Revised “500 Foot Rule” Addressing When Public Officials Have a Conflict of Interest in Decisions Potentially Affecting Their Real Property
As local government officials and attorneys are no doubt aware, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has once again changed its rule regarding property-related conflicts of interest. On January 17, 2019, the FPPC amended Regulation 18702.2, which governs whether public officials have a conflict of interest in governmental decisions potentially affecting their real property. Recent advice letters from the FPPC...
Read MoreSupreme Court Reaches Major Takings Decision in Knick v. Township of Scott
Photo Credit: Sunira Moses, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons On June 21, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania. The decision has significant implications for state and local government agencies faced with regulatory takings claims under the Fifth Amendment. (SMW filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of eight state and local government groups, including the National Governors...
Read MoreCoyote 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) Award for their role in this achievement. Image by the Greenbelt Alliance
Read More2019 Super Lawyers
Super Lawyers magazine has recognized SMW attorneys (top row, L to R) Ellison Folk, Robert "Perl" Perlmutter, (bottom row, L to R) Andrew Schwartz, Rachel Hooper, and Fran Layton as Northern California Super Lawyers for 2019.
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