Updates and Articles
Vacant House Taxes: One Tool to Ease Housing Pressures
Housing affordability – whether buying or renting – remains a critical challenge for California cities and their residents. An April 2022 report from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation found that a record number of Californians are housing cost burdened. State housing cost burdens have surged over the last two decades, with home value increases meaningfully outpacing median household income growth over the...
Read MoreChanges Coming in 2023 to State Energy Code and Green Building Standards
In late 2021, the California Energy Commission approved updates to California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code), which regulate energy and water efficiency for newly constructed buildings. The Commission also approved energy-related updates to the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen), which both mandates and encourages sustainable construction practices. Both sets of updated standards take...
Read MoreHomeless Encampments: Constitutional and Practical Concerns
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger’s newest partner, René A. Ortega, gave a presentation this past month at the 2022 Hispanic National Bar Association Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. In his talk, titled “Homeless Encampments En Nuestras Comunidades: Navigating Constitutional and Practical Concerns,” Rene and his co-panelists, Mindy Mitchell of Homebase and Mandy Chapman Semple of Clutch Consulting, described solutions...
Read MoreLand Trust Best Practices Presented at National Conference
At the Land Trust Alliance’s annual national conference in New Orleans, SMW firm members Sarah Sigman and Tamara Galanter shared their expertise with land trusts and others in the conservation community. Sarah presented on best practices for preparing the baseline reports that document the condition of the conservation property at the time the landowner enters into the conservation easement and what to do when previously...
Read MoreIn Memoriam: Jonas Minton, True Friend of the Firm
Jonas Minton, Director of the Planning and Conservation League’s (PCL) water program for two decades, passed away suddenly on June 22. Jonas worked tirelessly on water issues in California, applying thoughtful, methodical pressure to help build science-driven consensus on water use in the Delta, the Monterey Peninsula, and elsewhere. His work brought transparency and open communication to contentious water issues. His...
Read MoreRené Alejandro Ortega Joins Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger as New Partner
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger is pleased to announce that René Alejandro Ortega has joined the firm as a new Partner. “We are so pleased to have René join us here at Shute, Mihaly,” said Richard S. Taylor, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger’s managing partner. “With his expertise in municipal law, housing, land use, and litigation, Rene brings a terrific combination of skills to the firm.” René comes to SMW most...
Read MoreShute, Mihaly & Weinberger Welcomes New Urban Planner Kristi Bascom
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger is pleased to announce the addition of a new urban planner, Kristi Bascom. “Kristi is a fantastic addition to our firm,” said Richard S. Taylor, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger’s managing partner. “She brings expertise in public agency planning, CEQA, and affordable housing. We are lucky to have her on the team.” Before coming to SMW, Ms. Bascom served municipal agencies throughout the...
Read MoreSMW Serves as General Counsel to Ladera Recreation District
In 2022, the firm began serving as General Counsel to the Ladera Recreation District. The Ladera Recreation District is a Community Services District in the unincorporated Ladera neighborhood of San Mateo County. The District has provided exceptional recreational services since its establishment in the 1950s.
Read MoreLA Times Op-Ed: Why Forest Managers Need to Team Up with Indigenous Fire Practitioners
SMW attorney Sara A. Clark co-authored an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times calling for increased support for beneficial fires, especially in partnership with Indigenous fire practitioners, and for an update to our national approach to wildfire management. The partnership between cultural fire practitioners and western scientists, which Clark is facilitating, calls for change in four areas: active land stewardship at the...
Read MoreStaying on Top of the Surplus Land Act – Practice Tips After Recent Updates
When local agencies sell or lease their surplus land to others, California’s Surplus Land Act (SLA) (Government Code sections 54220 to 24234) requires them to prioritize that land for affordable housing, open space, and school use. Agencies must let affordable housing developers, local park and recreation districts and departments, and school districts know that the land is available, and give those entities a chance to...
Read MorePlanning for Environmental Justice: Implementing SB 1000
A Valuable Tool for Equity Due in part to a long history of unequal land use planning and discriminatory housing and industrial policies, communities of color and low-income communities bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harms. Large polluting industries tend to be sited in or near these communities, leading to higher rates of long-term health conditions. These communities are also less likely to have...
Read MoreOverturning Roe v. Wade Affects All of Us
The Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and called into question more than 50 years of Supreme Court jurisprudence on the right to privacy, affects us all. In taking away the right to safe and legal abortion care, the Court has opened the door to eroding a broad array of other personal rights, including the rights to contraception and to marry whomever you choose,...
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