Updates and Articles
Watsonville Urban Growth Boundary Approved
Voters in Watsonville in 2002 pass an initiative, drafted by the firm, establishing an urban growth boundary around the City.
Read MoreProtected: SMW Defends the City of Lafayette in Complex Land Use Litigation
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Read MoreSMW Helps Residents Reduce Oakland Airport Impacts
On behalf of the Citizens League for Airport Safety and Serenity (CLASS), in 2002 the firm negotiates a comprehensive settlement of the long-ranging dispute over the Oakland International Airport expansion, limiting the size of the terminal and imposing restrictions on air cargo facilities. The firm continues to represent CLASS as it monitors airport operations and advocates for its neighbors.
Read MoreAppellate Court Victory Protects Saratoga Residents From Community College’s Noisy Athletic Stadium
The firm wins an appellate court case for the City of Saratoga, requiring a school district's athletic stadium to comply with the City's zoning ordinance. (Saratoga v. West Valley-Mission Community College District (2002).)
Read MoreGaviota Coast Protected
On behalf of Surfrider, the firm secures denial of a coastal development permit extension for the Dos Pueblos golf course along Santa Barbara's rural Gaviota coast in 2001. Seventeen years later the firm negotiates a settlement that permits the development of two homes on the property, while allowing for public access to the coast and placing the vast majority of the land under a conservation easement.
Read MoreAirport Expansion Requires Meaningful Noise Analysis
The firm succeeds in a CEQA challenge to a large expansion of the Oakland International Airport, obtaining a landmark appellate ruling that the environmental impact report must analyze the project's severe noise impacts on nearby residents. (Berkeley Keep Jets Over the Bay Committee v. Bd. of Port Comm'rs, 91 Cal.App.4th 1344 (2001).)
Read MoreSMW Defends Urban Growth Boundary Initiative and Stops City’s SLAPP Suit
The firm successfully defends against litigation by the City of Marina challenging an urban growth boundary initiative drafted by the firm and adopted by the City's voters. The court holds that the City's suit against the measure is an unlawful strategic lawsuit against public participation (“SLAPP”). (City of Marina v. Landwatch (2001).)
Read MoreSMW Lawsuit Compels State to Address Toxic Hot Spots in Waters
The firm wins a case requiring state water quality regulators to implement a statute addressing “toxic hot spots” in state waters. (DeltaKeeper v. State Water Resources Control Board (2001).)
Read MoreSMW Helps Defeat Proposal to Weaken Zoning Protecting Placer County Timberlands
The firm assists Sierra Watch and Mountain Area Preservation in defeating a proposal in 2001 to amend Placer County's zoning regulations to allow ski lifts and ski runs as “permitted uses” in the County's Timberland Production Zones.
Read MoreReferendum Leads to Permanent Preservation of “Bahia” Wetlands in Novato
Voters in Novato in 2001 pass a referendum, drafted by the firm, that overturns the approval of a large subdivision on the biologically rich “Bahia” property, at the mouth of the Petaluma River. Later, the land is purchased for permanent conservation.
Read MoreVoters in San Juan Capistrano Pass Referendum of Gated Subdivision on Wetlands
Voters in San Juan Capistrano in 2002 pass a referendum, drafted by the firm, reversing the City's approval of “Whispering Hills,” a gated subdivision that would have filled wetlands and cut a road through prominent ridgelines.
Read MoreAppellate Court Win Upholds Referendum of Pre-Zoning for Development
In an appellate court victory, the firm successfully defends a referendum of the City of Pleasanton's pre-zoning of property for development and convinces the court that the referendum does not create inconsistencies with the City's general plan. (Merritt v. City of Pleasanton, 89 Cal.App.4th 1032 (2001).)
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