Updates and Articles
SMW Chairs Conservation Law Forum
In 2015, firm partner Tamara Galanter begins chairing and helping organize the Conservation Law Forum for the California Council of Land Trusts.
Read MoreSolar Energy Project Ground Lease
On behalf of Marin Clean Energy, California’s first community choice aggregation agency, the firm negotiated a ground lease with Chevron, Inc. for the financing and construction of a 10 Megawatt solar energy project on brownfields in the City of Richmond at the Chevron Refinery.
Read MoreColumbia 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).)
Read MoreSMW 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.
Read MoreVictory 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 Technologies, Inc. v. SCAQMD (2014).)
Read MoreSMW 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 oil industry lawsuits.
Read MoreSMW Advises Orinda With Senior Affordable Housing Development Process
The firm advises Orinda in its successful 2014 collaboration with the developer of a 67-unit, senior affordable apartment complex on the City's former library site.
Read MoreSMW Advises Alameda on Reuse of Naval Air Station
In 2014, advised by the firm, the City of Alameda approves a major project for reuse of the former Naval Air Station site (Alameda Point) as a mixed-use, transit-oriented community with affordable housing and hundreds of acres of parks and open space. The project is based on the firm's work since 1996 regarding site cleanup, environmental permitting, and historic resources.
Read MoreSMW 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 County (2014).)
Read MoreLandmark 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.
Read MoreSMW Secures Historic Land Sale to Fund Critical Public Transit
The firm leads the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) team in the 2013 sale of land for the Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco, bringing in record revenues to fund development of the transit center.
Read MoreAudubon 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.
Read More