Practice Areas

Land Use

Our Land Use Practice Group guides clients through California’s complicated planning and development entitlement process at every level of government, facilitating and expediting the permitting and development of projects.  Our expertise in land use law and our familiarity with local, state, and federal regulatory requirements help our clients secure defensible approvals.  We are also keenly attuned to the role politics plays in California’s land use entitlement process, and our attorneys are well-respected by agency staff and decision makers throughout California.  With this experience, we provide comprehensive assistance to clients in numerous areas, including:

  • National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance
  • California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance
  • Local general plan and zoning code consistency requirements
  • Use of the specific plan process to implement long-range projects that require flexibility
  • Subdivision Map Act compliance
  • Land use initiatives and election law
  • Community Redevelopment Law requirements
  • Natural resource permitting, including endangered species, wetlands, water rights and water quality issues
  • Negotiating and drafting agreements to facilitate and protect land use entitlements, including development agreements, cost-sharing agreements, infrastructure improvement and reimbursement agreements, easements and rights-of-way, CC&Rs, affordable housing agreements, and various types of mitigation agreements related to topics such as agricultural resources, biological resources and schools
  • Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approvals for required boundary changes and sphere of influence (SO2) amendments for cities and districts
  • Facility siting, including telecommunications and alternative energy facilities
  • Special district formation and other financing mechanisms for project infrastructure

Recognizing that large-scale and often controversial projects require a well-coordinated team often working on a tight schedule, our attorneys work with clients to develop an effective entitlement strategy and regularly assist clients in managing the process.  In this role, we proactively work with the client team, including public relations specialists; engineers and project managers; environmental and other technical consultants; agency staff persons and the decision makers to produce legally defensible environmental documents in a timely manner and to move the entitlement process forward as efficiently and expeditiously as possible.  

When it is necessary to defend or challenge entitlements, our experienced litigators have a distinguished record of effectively and efficiently pursuing our clients’ interests in both state and federal court at the trial and appellate courts.

View our Land Use Attorneys