Cutting Edge Recycling and Composting Requirements
Photo Credit: Lisa Fotios, Pexels Years before state law requirements, the firm assists the Alameda County Waste Management Authority (WMA) in 2009 to pass an ordinance encouraging composting by prohibiting the disposal of plant debris in containers with garbage. In 2012, the firm assists the WMA in drafting and implementing an ordinance requiring recycling and […]
SMW Works With StopWaste.Org to Draft One of First Countywide Plastic Bag Bans
In 2012, the firm assists the Alameda County Waste Management Authority in drafting, preparing the EIR for, and implementing a countywide ban on single-use plastic bags in grocery stores. The ban is later expanded to include all retail establishments as well.
Local Land Use Rules Upheld
The firm obtains an appellate ruling upholding the City of Morgan Hill’s land use restrictions against a claim they unconstitutionally discriminated against an individual property owner. (Arcadia v. City of Morgan Hill, 197 Cal.App.4th 1526 (2011).)
Defending the Public Purse Against Unfair Claims
On appeal, the firm secures the reversal of a potentially devastating attorneys’ fee award against the Silverado Modjeska Recreation and Parks District. (Silverado Modjeska Recreation and Parks District v. County of Orange, 197 Cal.App.4th 282 (2011).)
Quarry Transformed into Park
The firm advises the City of Saratoga in acquiring a former quarry to be redeveloped as a park subject to a conservation easement and in subsequent park planning and operations. The park opens in 2015 and in 2020 the City opens a trail providing access to Sanborn County Park and, from there, to open space […]
Firm Assists in Securing Massive Federal Funds for Public Transit Project
In 2010 the firm assists the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) in its receipt of a $400 million grant under the federal Stimulus Act and a $171 million loan from the federal government to fund construction of the new transit center.
Largest Brownfields Renewal Project in San Francisco Approved at Hunters Point
On behalf of the former San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the firm negotiates land exchange agreements with the state that will enable the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Candlestick Point to be developed with 300 acres of new parks and more than 12,000 housing units, over 30% of them affordable. The firm drafted the state […]
Exploratorium Project Breathes New Life Into Historic San Francisco Pier
The Exploratorium project at historic Pier 15 is approved in 2010 after the firm helps the Port of San Francisco win the support of the State Lands Commission for the project, and becomes one of the most iconic attractions in San Francisco.
Takings Challenge to Mobile Home Rent Control Defeated
The firm obtains a landmark ruling from the Ninth Circuit, en banc, rejecting constitutional challenges to Goleta’s mobile home rent control ordinance, protecting an important source of affordable housing and preventing displacement. (Guggenheim v. City of Goleta, 638 F.3d 1111 (2010).)
San Mateo County Coastal Open Space Protected
The firm advises on a master parks plan for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District’s annexation of the entire San Mateo Coast in 2004. It then successfully defends the annexation in court. (Citizens for Responsible Open Space v. San Mateo County LAFCO, 159 Cal.App.4th 717 (2008).)