Updates and Articles
Voters in City of Orange Pass Referendum of Sprawl Development Project
Voters in the City of Orange in 2004 pass a referendum, drafted by the firm, that rejects the Fieldstone project, which would have allowed sprawl development on 110 acres of valuable open space.
Read MoreNinth Circuit Rules that EPA’s Waiver Decision Violates the Clean Air Act
Representing intervenor South Coast Air Quality Management District, the firm joins California Air Resources Board's challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's denial of California's request for a waiver. The Ninth Circuit holds that EPA's action violated the Clean Air Act. (Gray Davis v. U.S. EPA, 348 F.3d 772 (9th Cir. 2003).)
Read MorePublic-Private Partnership Preserves Public Access to Historic Gardens
In 2003 the firm assists the City of Saratoga in developing an innovative public-private partnership for the management of one of the oldest Japanese garden estates in the Western Hemisphere. The Hakone Gardens were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
Read MoreSMW Litigation Results in Funding for Open Space in Truckee Area
After prevailing in litigation challenging the “Old Greenwood” development in the Town of Truckee, the firm in 2003 helps Mountain Area Preservation negotiate a settlement that results in significant funding for open space in the Truckee area.
Read MoreLos Altos Hills Adopts Initiative to Preserve Public Open Space
After a grassroots group in Los Altos Hills qualifies an initiative, drafted by the firm, to preserve 157 acres of public open space and recreation lands, the City Council in 2003 adopts the measure outright.
Read MoreCourt Halts Unnecessary Roadway Expansion in Rural Ventura County
The firm prevails in a CEQA challenge to a roadway expansion that would have transformed the Town of Somis in rural Ventura County. Caltrans then agrees to a modest project alternative proposed by the firm's traffic expert. (Save Our Somis v. Caltrans (2003).)
Read MoreProtected: Lake Tahoe Development Moratorium Upheld
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Read MoreRelaxed CEQA Guidelines Rejected
In a groundbreaking appellate decision in a case brought by the firm, the appellate court overturns new CEQA guidelines adopted by the Wilson administration that would have weakened environmental review requirements across the state. (Communities for a Better Environment v. Cal. Resources Agency, 103 Cal.App.4th 98 (2002).)
Read MoreSMW Negotiates Closure of Polluting Facility
The firm negotiates a settlement of a Clean Water Act case against Ultramar, requiring the operator of a petroleum-coke loading facility in Pittsburg to close its operations or install state-of-the-art technology. (S.F. BayKeeper v. Ultramar, Inc. (2002).)
Read MoreSMW Stops Tosco from Evading Liability By Selling Polluting Facility
The firm obtains a Ninth Circuit ruling that Tosco Corporation cannot escape liability for decades of pollution from its petroleum-coke loading plant in Pittsburg by selling that facility during litigation. (San Francisco BayKeeper, Inc. v. Tosco Corporation, 309 F.3d 1153 (9th Cir. 2002).)
Read MoreWatsonville Urban Growth Boundary Approved
Voters in Watsonville in 2002 pass an initiative, drafted by the firm, establishing an urban growth boundary around the City.
Read MoreProtected: SMW Defends the City of Lafayette in Complex Land Use Litigation
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