Provided land use and entitlement counsel, including successfully streamlining the CEQA process, for a 100-megawatt, 400-megawatt hour battery energy storage system on a brownfield site in unincorporated Ventura County, California. The landmark energy storage project includes a Tesla Megapack battery system and will provide local, on-demand energy storage capacity to help Southern California’s transition away from a coastal natural gas powered power plant while increasing reliability and capacity to integrate the growing proportion of renewable sources of electricity generation on the grid.

Counsel to Vail Resorts, Northstar in strategic and legal advice relating to the permitting of the first Mountain Master Plan for a Northstar ski resort in the North Lake Tahoe area of California. We provided project-critical land use and CEQA advice to help the Northstar team gain unanimous approval of a 20-year mountain master plan for the ski resort which will add six new ski lifts, 300 acres of new ski trails, a high-speed gondola, improved cross-country skiing and trails, a new remote campsite and skier service improvements. We also successfully defended a challenge to a re-zone required for a portion of project before the trial court.

Has represented the Hollister Ranch Owners Association on issues relating to the Coastal Act. In recent years, Brownstein has represented the Association in litigation against the California Coastal Commission and State Coastal Conservancy related to public access.

Provided due diligence and transactional advice to commercial entity regarding permitting for stores ranging in size from 4,000 to 17,000 square feet in California.

Provided land use and CEQA compliance advice to mixed-use project with 266 apartments and 88,000 square feet of commercial, the largest mixed-use project processed and approved by the City of Goleta, California.

Represented client in purchase of a distressed San Francisco property out of bankruptcy for development of an approximately 81 unit multi-family building. Assisted with land use and CEQA due diligence.

Counsel to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in CEQA, land use and real estate issues before the City and County of Santa Barbara regarding their master plan project for updating and expanding the museum property and facilities.

Defended CEQA challenge to 800,000 square foot warehouse/distribution center, in state and appellate courts. Provided land use and CEQA compliance advice for expansion facility.

Provided land use and CEQA compliance advice regarding Recirculated Environmental Impact Report for controversial mixed use project in West Los Angeles with 2,600 residential units and 325,000 square feet of office and retail space.

Provided land use and CEQA compliance advice to a major university in West Los Angeles for master plan project. The master plan project involved adding 2,000,000 new and replacement square feet residential and non-residential facilities to the campus.

Defended NEPA, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and Federal Power Act challenge to FERC's issuance of a 50-year permit renewal for hydroelectric dam for major utility in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Land use litigation counsel for a cannabis company’s challenge to the City of Santa Barbara’s denial of application for a retail cannabis license for intended downtown Santa Barbara storefront. The litigation alleges that the City was arbitrary and capricious is the application of its ordinance, including its application of the buffer requirement, its scoring of applicants, and its denial of an opportunity to appeal the staff level decision to the City Council.

Represented a major hotel developer in enforcement action and vested rights determination, before the Coastal Commission for property in Laguna Beach.