Land Use

              The  firm  has  litigated dozens of land use cases at both the administrative level  and  in  California  state  courts.  These cases typically require enforcement of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) and the California Planning and Zoning Law.

              An example of a recent land use case is the “Bickford Ranch” case, in which the firm, as co-counsel with the Law Office of J. William Yeates, represented the Sierra Club, Foothill Audubon Society, and California Oak Foundation challenging Placer County’s approval of a 2,000-home development that proposed to eliminate old-growth blue oak woodlands.  The case was resolved by way of a settlement agreement in which the developers agreed to fund the acquisition and preservation of oak woodlands in Placer County.