Land Use and Entitlements

The firm advises landowners, developers, and businesses on the full entitlement process: general plan and zoning analysis, design review, conditional use permits, subdivision and tentative map applications, lot line adjustments, conservation and open space matters, and project-specific approvals. We represent clients before local planning departments, planning commissions, city councils, and regional agencies, and we appear regularly at public hearings throughout San Diego County.

Environmental Compliance and Review

Most land use matters intersect with environmental law. The firm has substantive experience in the major environmental statutes governing land use in California, including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the California Coastal Act, the Federal Clean Water Act, and the federal and California Endangered Species Acts. We assist with the preparation and review of environmental impact reports and statements, mitigated negative declarations, and project-level CEQA documents; with permit processing before federal and state environmental agencies; and with biological and habitat issues, water quality, air quality, and hazardous materials matters.

The firm regularly works with the California Coastal Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California State Lands Commission, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, regional water quality control boards, and other federal, state, and local agencies with land use and environmental jurisdiction.

Land Use and Environmental Litigation

When projects face challenge, or when regulatory decisions warrant judicial review, the firm represents clients in the full range of land use and environmental litigation: CEQA writ proceedings, challenges to environmental impact reports, takings and inverse condemnation matters, Coastal Act enforcement actions, endangered species and habitat litigation, nuisance and encroachment actions, and disputes over conservation easements and open space restrictions. The firm represents both project proponents defending approvals and opponents challenging them, and brings deep familiarity with the underlying regulatory frameworks to every matter.