Updates and Articles
Water Rights for Fish and Wildlife
The firm represents The Nature Conservancy in a petition to dedicate water rights for the Big Springs Ranch in Siskiyou County to instream use for the protection of fish and wildlife in the Shasta River. The project becomes a model for sustainable ranch management to protect endangered coho salmon. The firm later represents private ranch owners along the Shasta River in similar efforts to dedicate more water to fish and...
Read MoreCalifornia Supreme Court Upholds Significant Regulation of Emissions from Paints
The California Supreme Court upholds the South Coast Air Quality Management District's authority to adopt “technology-forcing” rules in a challenge to the District's regulation of paints, the second largest source of smog-forming emissions after motor vehicles. Dan Selmi and firm partner Matt Zinn receive the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for this achievement. (American Coatings Assn. v. SCAQMD, 54...
Read MoreFunds Secured for Rail, Parks, and Housing in San Francisco
Beginning in 2012, the firm represents the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) in San Francisco's adoption of the Transit Center District Plan and associated special tax and community benefits districts for rail, housing, parks, and improvements in the Transbay neighborhood.
Read MoreAgreement Enables Redevelopment of Naval Air Station Treasure Island
The firm negotiates an exchange agreement with the state, and helps defend a development plan, adopted by the Treasure Island Development Authority in 2012. (Citizens for a Sustainable Treasure Island v. City and County of San Francisco.) The approvals, authorized by legislation drafted by the firm (SB 1873), enable the redevelopment of Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island with over 300 acres of parks, a new ferry...
Read MoreLegislation 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.
Read MoreHistoric Settlement Saves Open Space in Solano County
In response to litigation challenging an estate subdivision in rural Solano County, in 2012 a developer sells the 1,500-acre “Rockville Trails” property to the Solano Land Trust, preserving some of the most precious open space in the County. (Green Valley Landowners Assn. v. Solano County.)
Read MoreConservation Victory for the California Gnatcatcher in the West Coyote Hills, City of Fullerton
Blue-gray gnatcatcher, a closely related species to the California gnatcatcher. Photo credit: Becky Matsubara, Flickr, CC BY 2.0 Voters in Fullerton pass a referendum, drafted by the firm, that overturns the City's approval of a development agreement for a sprawling subdivision in the West Coyote Hills, home to the threatened California gnatcatcher. Following subsequent litigation filed by the firm challenging the...
Read MoreCutting Edge Recycling and Composting Requirements
Photo Credit: Lisa Fotios, Pexels Years before state law requirements, the firm assists the Alameda County Waste Management Authority (WMA) in 2009 to pass an ordinance encouraging composting by prohibiting the disposal of plant debris in containers with garbage. In 2012, the firm assists the WMA in drafting and implementing an ordinance requiring recycling and composting at commercial multi-family residential...
Read MoreSMW Works With StopWaste.Org to Draft One of First Countywide Plastic Bag Bans
In 2012, the firm assists the Alameda County Waste Management Authority in drafting, preparing the EIR for, and implementing a countywide ban on single-use plastic bags in grocery stores. The ban is later expanded to include all retail establishments as well.
Read MoreSMW Protects Parks and Greenbelt Along San Joaquin River
The firm successfully challenges in court Fresno County's approval of 5,000 homes adjacent to the San Joaquin River Parkway. The firm is then able to negotiate a settlement that forces the developer to mitigate its project's impacts on the parks and other public resources within the Parkway. (San Joaquin Parkway and Conservation Trust v. County of Fresno (2012).)
Read MoreLocal Land Use Rules Upheld
The firm obtains an appellate ruling upholding the City of Morgan Hill's land use restrictions against a claim they unconstitutionally discriminated against an individual property owner. (Arcadia v. City of Morgan Hill, 197 Cal.App.4th 1526 (2011).)
Read MoreProtecting California’s Redwood Forests
In 2011 the firm begins representing Save the Redwoods League, the premier organization that has protected California redwood forests for more than a century. SMW assists the League in purchasing forests and surrounding lands and conservation easements. SMW is working with the League and its partners to acquire permits for a new National and State Park Visitor Center in Northern California.
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