Updates and Articles
Facebook Settlement Promotes Affordable Housing
The firm represents the City of East Palo Alto in negotiating a settlement with Facebook in 2016 that results in a $20 million fund for affordable housing and requirements for job training for City residents.
Read MoreNavigating Complex Attorney Fees
A litigant in a partition action faces a potential obligation to pay fees and costs of over $600,000. The firm eliminates this liability and turns it into a cost award of about $5,000. The litigation involves years of billing records and contentious proceedings. (DeMartini v. DeMartini (2016).)
Read MoreSMW 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).)
Read MoreSMW Thwarts Developer Attempt to Circumvent General Plan Policies for Historic Town Center
On behalf of Save Our Historic Town Center, the firm successfully challenges a massive development in the heart of downtown San Juan Capistrano that is flatly inconsistent with the City's general plan policies for that historic area. (Save Our Historic Town Center v. City of San Juan Capistrano (2016).)
Read MoreDon’t Forget the Energy Implications of New Projects – CEQA Guidelines Appendix F
Photo credit: Kevin Dooley, Flickr, CC BY 2.0 Agencies have long relied on existing energy-reduction requirements in building codes, and on the beneficial side effects of reducing greenhouse gases, to demonstrate that a project’s energy use will not be wasteful or inefficient. That approach is no longer sufficient under CEQA, however, without an express assessment of the “before” and “after” energy requirements of...
Read MoreIs Community Choice Aggregation the Right Choice for Your Community?
Community choice aggregation is surging in California. The Center for Climate Protection estimates that local governments representing over 17 million California customers are part of a community choice aggregator (CCA), scheduled to launch a CCA, or are actively considering one. Given this growing trend, communities that are not currently involved in a CCA effort may find themselves being invited to join a CCA or...
Read MoreLocal Actions Can Help Spur Renewable Energy Growth in California Communities
As renewable energy prices drop and consumer interest grows, many local governments are wondering what they can do to help their residents and businesses reap the benefits of clean energy. Erica McConnell provides an overview of some of the options that local governments have to improve access to renewable energy for their residents and bring its benefits to their communities. Consumer interest in renewable...
Read MoreSettlement with PG&E Will Close Last Nuclear Power Plant in California
The firm helps Friends of the Earth block PG&E's lease extension on public lands, and negotiate the historic 2016 settlement agreement with the utility to close in 2025 the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, located on the coast in a highly active seismic area.
Read MoreLegislation Passes Authorizing Mission Rock Project on Giants Parking Lot Site
In 2016 the state legislature enacts legislation (AB 2797), drafted by the firm for the Port of San Francisco, authorizing the development of the Mission Rock project on the site of a surface parking lot. The project includes 40% affordable housing and a five-acre waterfront park on China Basin Park.
Read MoreCalifornia Promulgates Innovative Solar and Energy Storage Policies
On behalf of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, the firm develops multiple first-of-its kind interconnection policies that are adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission in 2016 to facilitate the adoption of solar and energy storage on the grid. These policies serve as models for other states, allowing California to continue its leadership on clean energy.
Read MoreGilroy Voters Adopt Urban Growth Boundary
Voters in the City of Gilroy pass an initiative in 2016, drafted by the firm, that establishes an urban growth boundary around the City, limiting urban sprawl.
Read MoreSMW Advises Orinda Throughout Wilder Development Process
The Art & Garden Center opens at the Wilder playfields in Orinda in 2016 — a substantial community amenity resulting from a Development Agreement negotiated by the firm following its successful defense of a takings case brought by the developer against the City.
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