SMW Protects Historic District
The firm stops a developer from constructing an upscale high-rise in Oakland’s historic Waterfront Warehouse District. A court finds alternatives existed to provide the needed housing without harming the environment. (JLNA v. City of Oakland (1999).)
Tahoe Jet Ski Ban Upheld
The firm defeats a federal court challenge to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s imposition of a ban on jet skis. As a result, U.S. manufacturers cease producing 2-stroke polluting engines. (Lake Tahoe Watercraft Recreation Assn. v. TRPA, 24 F.Supp.2d 1062 (1998).)
Protected: Appellate Court Rejects Takings Challenge to Denial of Hillside Subdivision
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Settlement Protects Thousands of Acres of Viticulture and Open Space, Leading to Plan that Ensures City Centered Growth
The firm helps the City of Livermore negotiate a complex settlement agreement that results in 1998 in the award-winning South Livermore Valley Specific Plan. The Plan allows focused development, curbs urban sprawl, and protects over 5,000 acres of viticulture and open space.
SMW Defends Agricultural Preservation Initiative in City of Ventura
The firm successfully defeats a challenge to an agricultural preservation initiative passed by the voters of the City of Ventura. (FAIR v. City of San Buenaventura (1997).)
Federal Court Invalidates Approval of Hatton Canyon Freeway in Monterey County
The firm prevails in a federal court challenge to the Hatton Canyon Freeway, a proposed freeway that would have devastated a large Monterey Pine forest just east of Carmel. The federal and state transportation agencies drop the project, and the land becomes a regional park. (City of Carmel-by-the-Sea v. U.S. Dept. of Transportation, 123 F.3d […]
SMW Helps City of Ventura Form Special Assessment District
Photo Credit: Ken Lund, Flickr The firm assists the City of Ventura in establishing a special assessment district to fund the removal of silt from the Ventura Keys, and then represents the City in its successful defense of a legal challenge to the district. (Aggen v. City of San Buenaventura (1997).)
California Supreme Court Upholds Napa County Initiative
The firm successfully defends Napa County in a California Supreme Court case challenging Measure J, a farmland protection initiative drafted by the firm. In a ground-breaking ruling, the court holds that voters have the right to amend general plans by initiative. (DeVita v. County of Napa, 9 Cal.4th 763 (1995).)
Appellate Court Rejects Challenge to Initiative Drafted by SMW
Photo Credit: Clotee Pridgen Allochuku, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons The firm succeeds in defending a pre-election challenge to an initiative measure that it drafted to protect farmland in Stanislaus County. (Save Stanislaus Area Farm Economy v. Bd. of Supervisors, 13 Cal.App.4th 141 (1993).)
IT Corporation Must Close Its Facility in Conformance With County Regulations
The firm advises the City of Benicia on the required environmental standards for closure of the Class I hazardous waste facility adjacent to the City, and files an amicus brief in the California Supreme Court arguing, as the Court rules, that the landfill operator is subject to County regulations. (IT Corporation v. Solano County, 1 […]