SMW Attorney Teaches Land Use Law at Stanford Law School
SMW partner Andrew Schwartz is once again teaching Land Use Law at Stanford Law School for the fall quarter 2021-2022. The course focuses on the pragmatic (more than theoretical) aspects of contemporary land use law and policy, including the tools and historical/legal foundation of modern land use law; zoning and General Plans; the process of land development; affordable housing; growth […]
San Diego Superior Court Ruling Stops Sprawl Development in Fire-Prone Area
Earlier this month, the San Diego County Superior Court reversed San Diego County’s approval of the Otay Ranch Village 14 project, a proposed development that would have paved over critical wildlife habitat while building 1,100 homes on fire-prone land east of Chula Vista. In a consolidated cases brought by a coalition of environmental groups and the People of California, the court ruled that the county’s environmental analysis of the proposed Otay Ranch Village […]
SMW Attorney Presents at the CLA Environment Law Section Conference
On October 16, 2021, SMW Partner Matt Zinn spoke on a panel at the annual California Lawyers Association (CLA) Environmental Law Section 2021 Yosemite Virtual Conference. The panel provided updates and discussion about major environmental law cases pending in and decided by the United States Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the […]
SMW Attorney Presents at Intro to Environmental Law Series
On October 4, 2021, SMW Fellow Mindy Jian spoke on a CEQA 101 panel, part of the California Lawyer’s Association Environmental Law Section and California Young Lawyers Association’s joint series covering introductory topics in environmental law. The panel provided an overview of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), discussing the statute’s purposes, scope, and application.
Daily Journal Article: Competition and Collusion on the Road to Clean Cars
SMW Legal Fellow Peter Damrosch and Partner Matt Zinn traced the history of antitrust enforcement and vehicle emissions in a recent article in the Daily Journal: Competition and Collusion on the Road to Clean Cars. The article provides historical context for the Trump administration’s use of antitrust enforcement to intimidate automobile manufacturers that opposed his environmental rollbacks, which is now the subject of a new […]
The Public Trust – What Local Decisionmakers Should Know
The ancient public trust doctrine is as relevant as ever in today’s California, with implications for how local governments make decisions that could directly or indirectly affect water resources.
Building Decarbonization Update: Local Governments in California Consider Strategies to Reduce Natural Gas Use in Existing Buildings
Following up on the October 2019 and February 2020 editions of In the Public Interest, this article provides an update regarding strategies proposed by several cities and counties to encourage or require existing buildings to go all-electric.
SMW Attorney on Faculty of Land Trust Alliance Advanced Legal Symposium
On June 10, 2021, Tamara Galanter spoke on amendments to conservation easements and the use of building areas in conservation easements at the Eighth Symposium on Advanced Legal Topics in Land Conservation sponsored by the Land Trust Alliance. As a faculty member, Tamara joined seven other leading legal experts and practitioners to educate more than […]
Daily Journal Article: Restoring California’s Leadership in Setting Tailpipe Emissions Standards
Firm members Lauren Tarpey and Matthew Zinn outlined the historic rationale for California’s Clean Air Act waiver from federal preemption in a recent article for the Daily Journal: Restoring California’s leadership in setting tailpipe emission standards (paywall). Following the EPA’s announcement that it will reconsider a Trump era decision to revoke California’s waiver, the article […]
Rancho Jamul Land Exchange Defeated
SMW and its client Endangered Habitats League scores a major victory in 2020 in its battle to save the Proctor Valley in San Diego County. The Wildlife Conservation Board voted down a proposal to convey a 220-acre state ecological reserve to a private developer as part of a 1,200-unit upscale housing project. Read more here: […]