Columbia State Historic Park Protected From Mine Expansion
In response to litigation by the firm, Tuolumne County agrees to rescind its approval of the expansion of a limestone mine near Columbia State Historic Park and to prepare an environmental impact report for the project. (Central Sierra Env’l Resource Ctr. v. Tuolumne County (2014).)
SMW Prepares Ballot Measure to Fund Open Space Protection
In 2014, voters approve a parcel tax measure sponsored by the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority and drafted by the firm.
Victory for Environmental Justice in Southern California
The firm successfully defends the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s regulation of airborne arsenic and other toxic air pollutants against a challenge by a lead acid battery recycling facility in a predominantly low-income, Latino neighborhood in Vernon, California. Following the firm’s victory in Los Angeles Superior Court, the facility shuts down in 2015. (Exide […]
SMW Drafts and Defends Anti-Fracking Initiatives
In 2014 the firm drafts initiatives in Santa Barbara and San Benito Counties that ban the use of land for fracking. The San Benito measure passes, and subsequent litigation challenging the measure fails. In 2016, Monterey County voters pass an anti-fracking measure drafted by the firm. The firm is defending the Monterey measure from multiple […]
SMW Litigation Stops Massive Resort on Dyer Mountain
After years of litigation by the firm on behalf of the Mountain Meadows Conservancy, Sierra Watch and the Sierra Club, the developer of a large ski resort on Dyer Mountain in rural Lassen County abandons the project. The Lassen County Board of Supervisors then rescinds the project approvals. (Mountain Meadows Conservancy et al. v. Lassen […]
Landmark Settlement Agreement Ends Decades of Dispute over Mono Basin Streams
Assisted by the firm, the Mono Lake Committee negotiates a settlement agreement requiring the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to restore habitat and fisheries in four tributaries to Mono Lake.
Audubon Society Leverages Project Implementation for Conservation Funding
Assisted by the firm, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society negotiates a 2013 agreement with San Jose developers during project implementation that provides significant funding to permanently preserve burrowing owl habitat and conduct surveys to support regional conservation efforts.
Firm Prevails In Commercial Lease Litigation on Alameda Waterfront
The firm successfully defends the City of Alameda’s decision to not renew a commercial lease of its waterfront property, allowing the City to retain the largest ship repair facility in the Bay Area. (Alameda Gateway, Ltd. v. City of Alameda (2013).) On behalf of the City, the firm negotiates a new direct lease with the […]
Household Hazardous Waste Fee Upheld
The firm advises the Alameda County Waste Management Authority in its 2013 adoption of a fee to recover the costs of administering the Countywide Household Hazardous Waste program. The firm successfully defends the fee in subsequent litigation. (Crawley v. Alameda Cty. Waste Mgmt. Auth., 243 Cal. App. 4th 396, 196 Cal. Rptr. 3d 365 (2015).)
Critical Wildlife Corridor Established
The firm advises Laguna Greenbelt in successful negotiations leading to the 2019 opening of the Orange County Great Park Wildlife Corridor in Irvine to connect the Cleveland National Forest to the coast.