Updates and Articles
Speaker Pelosi Celebrates the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal at Salesforce Transit Center Event; SMW Supports TJPA’s Application for Federal Funds
SMW client the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) hosted Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the Bay Area delegation at an event at the Salesforce Transit Center, celebrating the federal commitment to fund public transit under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.
Read MoreSMW Helps Land Trust Acquire Property to Augment Coyote Valley Preserve
Continuing its work with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to protect the Coyote Valley in south San Jose, the firm assisted the Authority to acquire the 10-acre Ocean Queen USA parcel, a property slated for development. The property will be added to the Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve. Read more.
Read MoreSMW Attorney Teaches Land Use Law at Stanford Law School
SMW partner Andrew Schwartz is once again teaching Land Use Law at Stanford Law School for the fall quarter 2021-2022. The course focuses on the pragmatic (more than theoretical) aspects of contemporary land use law and policy, including the tools and historical/legal foundation of modern land use law; zoning and General Plans; the process of land development; affordable housing; growth controls; global warming and climate...
Read MoreSMW Ranked Top Tier Nationally Among 2022 “Best Law Firms”
U.S. News – Best Lawyers® has again given Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP a “Tier 1” ranking in four categories among law firms in the San Francisco metropolitan area, and three national awards, including a prestigious “Tier 1” ranking among all firms nationally in Land Use & Zoning Law. View the rankings here.
Read MoreSettlement Reached with CSU-Long Beach Over Puvungna, Sacred Tribal Land
An agreement between the plaintiffs, the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation – Belardes and the California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance, Inc., and the university includes permanent protection of Puvungna, prohibits development, and allows continued religious and cultural Tribal activities.
Read MoreSan Diego Superior Court Ruling Stops Sprawl Development in Fire-Prone Area
Photo: Quino checkerspot butterfly Earlier this month, the San Diego County Superior Court reversed San Diego County’s approval of the Otay Ranch Village 14 project, a proposed development that would have paved over critical wildlife habitat while building 1,100 homes on fire-prone land east of Chula Vista. In a consolidated cases brought by a coalition of environmental groups and the People of California, the court...
Read MoreSMW Attorney Presents at the CLA Environment Law Section Conference
On October 16, 2021, SMW Partner Matt Zinn spoke on a panel at the annual California Lawyers Association (CLA) Environmental Law Section 2021 Yosemite Virtual Conference. The panel provided updates and discussion about major environmental law cases pending in and decided by the United States Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit and D.C. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the California Supreme Court over the past year.
Read MoreSMW Attorney Presents at Intro to Environmental Law Series
On October 4, 2021, SMW Fellow Mindy Jian spoke on a CEQA 101 panel, part of the California Lawyer’s Association Environmental Law Section and California Young Lawyers Association’s joint series covering introductory topics in environmental law. The panel provided an overview of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), discussing the statute’s purposes, scope, and application.
Read MoreDaily Journal Article: Competition and Collusion on the Road to Clean Cars
SMW Legal Fellow Peter Damrosch and Partner Matt Zinn traced the history of antitrust enforcement and vehicle emissions in a recent article in the Daily Journal: Competition and Collusion on the Road to Clean Cars. The article provides historical context for the Trump administration’s use of antitrust enforcement to intimidate automobile manufacturers that opposed his environmental rollbacks, which is now the subject of a...
Read MoreSMW Assists Multiple Public Agencies Implementing SB 1383, Organic Waste Reduction and Edible Food Mandates
In anticipation of a January 1, 2022 deadline, SMW attorneys assisted numerous public agencies adopting municipal ordinances to implement SB 1383. California’s groundbreaking law aims to reduce disposal of organic waste at landfills by 75 percent from 2014 levels by 2025. SMW assisted the Alameda County Waste Management Authority (Stope Waste), the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority (RecycleSmart), Cupertino, Half...
Read MoreRecent Housing Legislation and the Initiative Power: What You Need to Know
The State Legislature’s burst of new housing legislation has significant implications for use of the initiative power. Find out more about SB10’s explicit shift of power to local legislatures and other ways in which the new laws may complicate planning and zoning initiatives.
Read MoreTribes Look to Expand Cultural Burning to Restore Traditional Practices and Address Catastrophic Wildfire Threats
People indigenous to California have proactively ignited the landscape to manage plants and wildlife, provide community protection, control insects and disease, and engage in cultural and religious practices since time immemorial. Experts estimate that before 1800, between 4.5 million and 12 million acres of the state burned annually, through some combination of lightening and cultural burning.
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