Updates and Articles
Legislation 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.
Read MoreRecognition for a Supreme Court Victory
SMW partner Kevin Bundy receives the California Lawyer's Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for his role, while at the Center for Biological Diversity, in obtaining a decision from the California Supreme Court overturning the greenhouse gas analysis for the Newhall Ranch project in L.A. County. (Center for Biological Diversity v. Cal. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, 62 Cal.4th 204 (2015) rehg. den. Feb. 17, 2016).)
Read MoreSMW Advises SAFCA on Local Funding Mechanisms for Flood Control
From 2007 through 2016, the firm advises the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency on the formation of assessment districts to fund the local share of flood control improvements, providing benefits to approximately 160,000 properties.
Read MoreGovernor’s “By Right” Bill Threatens to Eliminate Local Control over Residential Development
When it returns from its recess, the California Legislature will consider Trailer Bill 707—a proposal by Governor Brown’s office to require “by right” approval of certain residential developments. As the bill would greatly limit local control over land use, its effects would be far reaching. Cities and counties should review the legislation and its implications for their communities to determine whether they wish to take a...
Read MoreTribal Consultation Under AB 52: An Overview and Tips for Compliance
With the implementation of Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52) last July, California welcomed a new chapter in the ongoing relationship between public agencies and Native American tribes. This new law recognizes California tribes’ expertise regarding cultural resources and provides a method for agencies to incorporate tribal knowledge into their CEQA environmental review and decision-making processes. Under AB 52, California tribes...
Read MoreHelp Public Agency Clients Avoid Inadvertent Disclosures
Public agencies breathed a collective sigh of relief following the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Ardon v. City of Los Angeles (2016) 62 Cal.4th 1176. The Court found that public agencies do not waive exemptions when they inadvertently disclose confidential documents in response to a Public Records Act (PRA) request. But some mistakes are more easily cured than others. Given the practical limits of the Court’s...
Read MoreFirm Victory Clarifies Eminent Domain Rules
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger won a significant victory for longtime client Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) when the Third District Court of Appeal upheld a favorable eminent domain jury verdict in Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency v. Dhaliwal (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 1315. The case was tried by the firm’s veteran trial attorney, Andrew Schwartz, and defended on appeal by Mr. Schwartz and SMW’s Catherine...
Read MorePractical Tips for Updating Sign Ordinances Post-Reed v. Town of Gilbert
The dust is still settling from the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, AZ, 135 S.Ct. 2218 (2015), a case challenging the Town of Gilbert’s sign ordinance as a content based and unconstitutional regulation of speech. The Court sided with the challengers, a small church and its pastor, who had faced numerous regulatory obstacles to erecting temporary signs directing members to services, which were held...
Read MoreGreenhouse Gas Emission Thresholds Upheld
The firm defends the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in litigation challenging its CEQA thresholds of significance. After a ruling of the California Supreme Court, the majority of the thresholds are upheld. (California Building Industry Assn. v. BAAQMD, 62 Cal.4th 369 (2015).)
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