Grid Legal advise on ways to successfully traverse the network of state law - existing and pending- including zoning ordinances, local regulations, and restrictions.

Through strategy development, document drafting or representation, having an attorney at your side helps identify the real issues you are facing. Together, we can calculate the best approach forward. Experienced in local government policies, we work with City Councils, Boards of Supervisors, Planning Commissions, Community Groups, and State and Federal agencies on key issues.

Utilizing innovative and implementable solutions, Grid’s attorneys work with land and business owners and public agencies on small-scale residential, commercial, mixed-use, renewable energy, and educational developments from the planning states to environmental review and approval.  

We embrace the challenges of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and integrate clarity from the statute and recent court decisions into the process. With expertise advising on a wide range of CEQA issues, Grid is here to help keep your project on track.

Grid’s attorneys bring years of experience representing private and public clients to navigate the intricate web of regulation and legal requirements.

We have expertise in a wide range of areas including:

Entitlement, Development & Permits

• Due diligence for commercial, industrial, residential, and mixed-use properties with a focus on land use and regulatory issues.
• Vested or grandfathered rights
• Development agreements
• Disposition and development agreements
• Local land use counsel
• Land use opinions for lenders
• Exclusive right to negotiate agreements (ENAs)
• Subdivision improvement agreements
• Fee credit/reimbursement arrangements
• Subdivision Map Act
• Subdivision Under SB 9
• Use Permits
• LAFCO/boundary changes
• General plans, specific plans, and zoning
• Williamson Act agricultural preserves and contracts
• Exactions, dedications, and fees
• Density bonus
• Inverse Condemnation
• California Coastal Act and Local Coastal Plans (LCP)
• Coastal Development Permits (CDP)
• General Plan Amendments and Zoning Amendments

Environmental Review

• Environmental Impact Reports (EIR)
• Negative Declarations and Mitigated Negative Declarations (MND)
• Addendum, supplemental, and subsequent environmental review documents
• Exemptions, Tiering, and Streamlining under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
• Mitigation measures and design features
• Administrative record preparation
• Stormwater compliance
• Various mitigation agreements (agricultural conversion, biological resources, schools)
• Maintenance and perpetual funding for improvements or land set aside for mitigation
• CEQA
• NEPA
• Habitat Conservation Plans, Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Government & Community Relations

• Represent public agency boards and planning commissions
• Advise public agencies on land use, zoning, and environmental compliance
• Review environmental documents for compliance with CEQA and NEPA and prepare responses to comments
• Advise on Brown Act and Public Record Act compliance
• Draft Resolutions, ordinance, and code amendments
• Legislative review and analysis

Private Representation

• Communication and presentation strategies for local planning and community groups
• Representation at public hearings
• Compliance with notice and hearing requirements under the California Brown Act
• Eminent domain and takings
• Mitigation Fee Act
• Permit Streamlining Act
• Public Records Act

‍