Updates and Articles
SMW Litigation Stops Rezoning of Timberland in Lassen County
Following a CEQA suit filed by the firm, Lassen County rescinds its approval of a proposal by Sierra Pacific Industries to rezone 5,000 acres of timberland for urban development. (Friends of Lassen Forest v. Lassen County (2009).)
Read MoreStockton General Plan Litigation Leads to Adoption of Landmark Climate Action Plan
Photo credit: Eric Sonstroem, Flickr, CC BY 2.0 As a result of litigation filed by the firm challenging the City of Stockton's General Plan update, and pressure from the state Attorney General's office, the City agrees to prepare a Climate Action Plan, one of the earliest such plans in California. (Sierra Club v. City of Stockton (2009).)
Read MoreSMW Helps Defeat Nestle’s Controversial Water-Bottling Plant on McCloud River
Photo Credit: Curtis Knight After years of pressure from California Trout and Trout Unlimited, groups represented by the firm, the Nestle Company in 2009 agrees to withdraw its plans to build a water-bottling plant on the McCloud River, one of the greatest trout-fishing rivers in the world. Firm partner Rachel Hooper receives the California Lawyer's Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for her role in this success.
Read MoreSMW Enforces Agricultural Conservation Easement
After years of litigation, the firm negotiates a groundbreaking settlement to enforce a conservation easement and preserve and enhance the agricultural productivity of Sonoma County's Lower Ranch. (Sonoma Land Trust v. BBRRBR LLC (2008).)
Read MoreSMW Successfully Challenges Sprawl Development on Agricultural Lands
The firm prevails in litigation challenging a sprawl development project in the San Joaquin/Sacramento Delta city of Oakley and enters into a settlement generating substantial mitigation fees for protection of agricultural land. (Greenbelt Alliance v. City of Oakley (2008).)
Read MoreHistoric Tejon Ranch Deal Preserves a Quarter of a Million Acres
In one of the largest conservation deals in California history, the firm, representing a coalition of conservation groups, negotiates an agreement in 2008 to preserve 240,000 acres of the historic Tejon Ranch, in Kern and Los Angeles Counties. SMW partners Richard Taylor and Bill White receive the California Lawyer's Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for this achievement.
Read MoreDonner Summit Recreation Lands and Open Space Protected
In 2008 the firm advises Sierra Watch and the Sierra Club in their successful efforts to stop urban development on open space and cross country ski trails on Donner Summit.
Read MoreSan Mateo County Coastal Open Space Protected
The firm advises on a master parks plan for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's annexation of the entire San Mateo Coast in 2004. It then successfully defends the annexation in court. (Citizens for Responsible Open Space v. San Mateo County LAFCO, 159 Cal.App.4th 717 (2008).)
Read MoreFlood and Habitat Protection for the Natomas Basin
From 2008 to the present, the firm represents the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency in more than 30 eminent domain actions to acquire property for the nation's largest flood control and habitat mitigation project in the Natomas Basin, encompassing parts of the City of Sacramento. Habitat mitigation includes the Giant Garter Snake and Swainson's Hawk.
Read MoreA Vote to Protect Open Space in San Clemente
Voters in San Clemente pass a referendum in 2008 against the Pacific Golf Club project, which was to be located in one of the City's largest open space areas. The firm drafts the referendum and successfully defends its sponsor's ballot argument in court.
Read MoreNapa County Voters Extend Initiative Protecting Agricultural Land
The firm drafts an initiative that extends Measure J, the agricultural protection initiative drafted by the firm in 1990 and upheld by the California Supreme Court in 1995, for another 50 years. In 2008 Napa County voters pass the initiative overwhelmingly.
Read MoreRoadway Realignment Project
The firm assisted the City of Alameda in the acquisition of right of way, relocation of affected property owners, roadway design, and landscaping design for the realignment and improvement of Willie Stargell Avenue.
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