More Presentations & Publications
  • League of California Cities Land Use and CEQA Update: On May 5, 2011, Andrew Schwartz delivered the Land Use and CEQA update to the League’s annual Spring Conference at the Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite.   
  • AICP Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Impacts: The 90-minute session taught participating planners the fundamental principles of preparing greenhouse gas analyses for CEQA purposes, and about recent trends and regulatory changes in this area, which has evolved significantly in recent years. The workshop was led by a SMW attorney and the firm’s two certified urban planners.   -Read more-
  • California Land Trust Conference: On March 1, 2011, Matthew Zinn spoke about recent cases addressing mitigation of farmland conversion at the California Council of Land Trust’s annual Land Trust Conference in Sacramento.  
  • Planning and Conservation League Annual Environmental Legislative Symposium: Richard Taylor addressed the Planning and Conservation League’s Annual Environmental Legislative Symposium on January 29th. Speaking on the importance of General Plans and community involvement in local and regional planning he distributed a list of General Plan resources available here.   -Read more-
  • Regulatory Takings: On February 11, 2011, Andrew Schwartz presented at UCLA Law School on the firm’s recent victory in Guggenheim v. City of Goleta at a symposium entitled Emerging Challenges to Local Land Use Authority sponsored by the League of California Cities and the UCLA School of Law Environmental Law & Policy Program. To see a copy of the paper, click here.  
  • UCLA Takings Lecture: On November 17, 2010, Andrew Schwartz delivered a lecture at UCLA Law School on Regulatory Takings.   
  • Regulatory Takings: On November 5, 2010, Matthew Zinn spoke about the future of the Penn Central regulatory takings test at the 13th annual conference on Litigating Regulatory Takings Challenges to Land Use and Environmental Regulations at the U.C. Berkeley School of Law.  
  • Transit Oriented Development: On October 29, 2010 Andrew Schwartz spoke on Transit Oriented Development at the 12th Annual Conference on “Eminent Domain: Impacts of the Economy and Recent Jurisprudence” in San Francisco sponsored by Continuing Legal Education International.   
  • Eminent Domain for Redevelopment: On October 21, 2010, in a one-hour Webinar sponsored by the University of Connecticut Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies, Andrew Schwartz debated a member of the property rights bar on the use of eminent domain for redevelopment.   
  • 2010 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite: Ellen Garber has been selected to be a panelist at the 2010 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite, sponsored by the State Bar of California Environmental Law Section. The subject of the panel is the annual CEQA Update: A Perennial Favorite.  
  • Transit Oriented Development: On September 24, 2010 Andrew Schwartz spoke on Transit Oriented Development, the Transbay Transit Center Project, and High-Speed Rail at the Land Use Law & Policy Conference in San Francisco sponsored by Continuing Legal Education International.  
  • Sierra Nevada Alliance Conference: Rachel Hooper, Richard Taylor, and Winter King spoke at the Sierra Nevada Alliance annual conference on August 27 as part of the Alliance training on “Using Legal Resources to Protect Sierra Resources.” Richard and Rachel provided training on General Plans, Climate Change and Land Use Initiatives and Winter presented on effective use of the California Environmental Quality Act.  
  • Conservation Easements Damaged by Wildfire: On April 24, 2010 Andrew Schwartz spoke on remedies of conservation easement holders for damage caused by wildfires at the Wildland Fire Litigation Conference in Reno, Nevada.   
  • Land Trust Alliance National Teleconference: Tamara Galanter spoke on April 8 at a National Teleconference for the Conservation Defense Network of the Land Trust Alliance regarding the California Solar Rights Act and its impact on conservation easement properties.   
  • California Land Trust Conference: Tamara Galanter led a workshop at the annual California Land Trust Conference in March on how to prepare for and respond to the threat of condemnation of conservation properties.   
  • UC Berkeley Law Environmental Justice Symposium: SMW sponsored the 6th Annual Environmental Justice Symposium: “Environmental Justice: Lawyers and Community Partnering for Change” featuring film and discussion on the vital intersection of grassroots social change, environmental protection, and civil and human rights on February 16 -20, 2010, in Berkeley.   
  • PCL Environmental Legislative Symposium: SMW sponsored the annual Planning and Conservation League (PCL) and PCL Foundation (PCLF) Environmental Legislative Symposium - "Greening California's Landscapes: Smart Solutions for a New Era," on January 30, 2010 in Sacramento. For more information on the event click here.  
  • Trail Planning for California Communities: Richard Taylor and Winter King are contributing authors of Trail Planning for California Communities just published by Solano Press Books. The book is a comprehensive guide to planning, designing, funding, building and maintaining trails in California. It includes information on trail easements, dedication requirements, environmental review and other legal considerations as well as a wealth of information on non-legal issues. For more information or to order the book, click here.  
  • Conservation Easement Conference: Robert “Perl” Perlmutter spoke at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco on November 17, 2009, at CLE International’s 3rd Annual Conference on Conservation Easements. For more information on the conference, click here.  
  • SB 375 and Climate Change Planning Presentation: On October 30, 2009 Richard Taylor spoke on sustainable community strategies and recent legislation on climate change and local government planning at the Annual Conference of the Municipal Management Association of Northern California in Squaw Valley.  
  • Forest Protection Strategies Presentation: On October 18, 2009 Rachel Hooper spoke on California forest protection strategies at the Sierra Nevada Alliance annual conference in Kings Beach. Click here for more information.   
  • Settlement Strategies Presentation: On September 25, 2009 Richard Taylor spoke on creative settlements of land use controversies at the Law Seminars International Fifth Annual Comprehensive Workshop on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in Santa Monica. For more information click here.   
  • CLE CEQA Panels: In September 2009, Robert “Perl” Perlmutter served as a panelist at CLE International’s 5th Annual California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Conference in both San Francisco and San Diego, providing practical tips regarding Biological and Cultural Resources Mitigation.  
  • American Planning Association Presentation: Richard Taylor recently addressed the Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association on the role of CEQA and state planning laws in achieving sustainability in a resource scarce environment.  
  • Regulatory Takings Presentation: In March 2009, Andrew Schwartz delivered a presentation to the Law Seminars International Conference on Land Use in San Francisco on the state of regulatory takings law.  
  • Sierra Club Workshop: In March 2009, Gabe Ross explained California law surrounding climate change at a workshop for environmental activists co-sponsored by the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club and Loyola Law School’s Environmental Law Society.   
  • Planning & Conservation League (PCL) Conference: In February 2009, at the PCL annual conference in Sacramento, Catherine Engberg, Perl Perlmutter, and Richard Taylor addressed environmental activists, planners, and lawyers on responsible local land use planning and the historic Tejon Ranch conservation agreement.  
  • PCL CEQA Workshops: In June, November and December 2008, SMW attorneys conducted day-long CEQA workshops in Sacramento, Bakersfield and Stockton.  
  • CEB Panel: In September and October 2008, Perl Perlmutter and Ellen Garber delivered presentations in Los Angeles and San Francisco on “CEQA Practice: Critical Issues and Litigation Trends” sponsored by California Continuing Education of the Bar.  
  • Exactions Update: Andrew Schwarz and co-author Ken Bley recently updated their chapter on exactions – development impact fees and real property dedications imposed to mitigate the impacts of development projects – in the Stat Bar’s treatise on Land Use. See CEB California Land Use Practice, Ch. 18, Exactions.  
  • Humboldt Land Use: In May 2008 at the State Bar sponsored “Land Use: Where the Forest Meets the Sea” conference, the firm’s senior planner, Laurel Impett and managing partner Rachel Hooper led workshops on the effects of timberland conversions on wildlife, water quality, and local government services.   
  • AICP Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Impacts: The 90-minute session taught participating planners the fundamental principles of preparing greenhouse gas analyses for CEQA purposes, and about recent trends and regulatory changes in this area, which has evolved significantly in recent years. The workshop was led by a SMW attorney and the firm’s two certified urban planners.   -Read more-
  • SMW Sponsors Environmental Justice Conference: SMW recently co-sponsored UC Berkeley’s Eighth Annual Environmental Justice Symposium. This year’s symposium, “Overcoming Invisibility: Environmental Justice in Rural America,” featured panel discussions on clean energy on tribal lands, discriminatory siting of hazardous waste disposal, and access to clean drinking water in the Central Valley.