Travis Brooks

Shareholder
Walnut Creek, CA
925.935.9400
travis.brooks@msrlegal.com
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Travis is a land use shareholder in Miller Starr Regalia's Walnut Creek office. 

Travis is a land use shareholder in Miller Starr Regalia's Walnut Creek office. 

Practice Areas

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Land Use & CEQA Land Use - Entitlement Land Use - Litigation Land Use - Transactional
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Biography

Travis is a shareholder with Miller Starr Regalia. He represents private and public entity clients in a wide range of land use and environmental matters throughout the state of California.

Prior to joining MSR, Travis gained substantial experience as an attorney at Harrison, Temblador, Hungerford and Johnson where he advised clients in the areas of land use, mining and environmental law.  Travis also has significant experience related to school site development, construction law, and public bidding and contracting.

Before becoming an attorney, Travis clerked with the California Assembly Committee on the Judiciary and worked on political campaigns in Colorado, New York, and Washington D.C.

Travis is licensed to practice in California and New York.
 

Education

J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (2011)

  • Order of the Coif
  • Traynor Honor Society
  • Dean’s List, 2009, 2010, 2011
  • Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Foreign Investment and Development Law

B.A., Colorado College, Political Science (2006)

Associations

Contra Costa County Bar Association

New York State Bar Association

Urban Land Institute

Awards & Recognition

Super Lawyers Northern California Rising Star (2017-2023)

Publications

“California Supreme Court Rejects All-Or-Nothing Classification Of Permit Decisions, Holding That Whether CEQA Triggering Discretion Exists Must Be Determined On A Case-By-Case Basis”, Miller & Starr Real Estate Newsalert, November 2020 (Co-Author).

“Navigating Land Use Permitting During A Pandemic,” California Lawyers Association (CLA) Real Property Law E-Bulletin, July 15, 2020 (co-author)

U.S. Supreme Court Issues County of Maui Decision—Finds ‘Functionally Equivalent’ Test Guides the Inquiry Whether an NPDES Permit is Required for Groundwater Point Sources that Link to Waters of the U.S., California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, June 2020, Volume 29, Number 9 

The Slow March of Progress – Despite Failing to Secure Sweeping Housing Legislation, the Enactment of SB 330 in Newsom’s Frist Year is an Important Step Forward, California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, March 2020, Volume 29, Number 6

Unwinding the “Preclusion Trap” – Knick v. Township of Scott Upends Thirty Years of Federal Takings Precedent. Miller & Starr Real Estate Newsalert, November 2019, Vol. 30, Issue 2

“Towards Promises Unfulfilled: Applying Sixteen Years of Trade and Environmental Lessons to the Pending U.S. - Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement,” 23 PAC. MCGEORGE GLOBAL BUS. & DEV. L.J. 339 (2011)

Speeches & Presentations

"The Land Use/Water Law Connection: CEQA Update: Yes, Water Practitioners Need to Know This," Argent Communications Group’s 37th Annual California Water Law & Policy Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, June 8, 2023

“Legislative Tools to Encourage Residential Development: Using AB 2011 and SB 6 to Develop Residential Uses on Commercial Properties,” Argent Communications Group’s 8th Annual California Land Use Law & Policy Conference, Virtual, December 7, 2022

“The Land Use/Water Connection Updates: CEQA Update: Yes, Water Practitioners Need To Know This,” Argent Communications Group 36th Annual California Water Law & Policy Conference, Virtual, May 19, 2022

“The Water/Land Use Connection Updates: CEQA Update: Yes, Water Practitioners Need To Know This,” Argent Communications Group’s 35th Annual California Water Law & Policy Conference, Virtual, April 19, 2021

“State of the Art in Housing and Land Use Law in California,” Contra Costa County Bar Association’s 2020 MCLE Spectacular, Virtual, November 20, 2020

Travis has given presentations related to school site development, the Brown Act, and litigation.

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