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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Advocates face obstacles trying to connect San Diego youths to nature
Isaac Santos, 22, remembers growing up with family barbecues at his aunt's house in Imperial Beach, south of San Diego, and swimming with his cousins. Sure, the ocean was dirty sometimes, but the beaches were open and accessible. But since late 2021, swaths of the south San Diego coast have been closed every day — 1,345 days in a row and counting — because of sewage and industrial pollution flowing in from the Tijuana River. Santos is now an instructor with the nonprofit Outdoor Outreach, which connects youths to experiences in nature, and those pollution closures make it increasingly difficult to get the kids outdoors. 'They're not able to enjoy our waters in Imperial Beach — the nearest beach that they have to go to to have clean water access is at least 35 minutes away,' he said. Kids here don't have their own cars, he said, and their parents are too busy working to drive them to a cleaner beach far away. The access he had as a kid, he says, was crucial for finding a purpose, and confidence in the work he does now. For youths in South Bay communities such as Imperial Beach, San Ysidro and Nestor, worsening river conditions the last few years have stripped away not just recreational opportunities but a key part of community life. 'There are generations of kids that are growing up in the South Bay, San Diego without an experience of what a clean beach is — the ability to go in the water and feel better when you come out of it,' said Ben McCue, executive director of Outdoor Outreach. The Tijuana River is ranked the second-most endangered river in the United States by American Rivers. Data from the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health & Quality show the Imperial Beach shoreline this year has been closed every day except for one. The contamination of the Tijuana River and beaches isn't the only obstacle for outdoor groups trying to educate the next generation. For years, groups such as Outdoor Outreach, Mar de Colores and Paddle for Peace have driven youths to cleaner beaches miles away from their homes, providing surfboards, kayaks, swimming lessons and safety instruction — often introducing kids to the ocean for the first time. But they have not been allowed to visit the beach on weekends, could go only between Memorial and Labor days, only to three beaches, and each group needed a permit for each activity, per the city of San Diego, which has jurisdiction over the closest safe beaches. 'It's very restrictive,' McCue said. And there's a large disparity. 'If you're a kid who has the resources to get to the beach, the parents who know where to go, who have the free time to take you, the equipment, all of our parks and beaches are open to you,' McCue said. In an effort to address such barriers, state lawmakers in 2024 passed AB 2939, to ensure nonprofit and tribal programs have equal access to parks and beaches. Advocates hoped it would bring local rules in line with the California Coastal Act's promise of access for all. It went into effect in January 2025, and for seven months, McCue said, groups like his had easier access, even to San Diego's Mission Bay, which has some of the closest and best beaches for children and families. But the city of San Diego has been fighting back against the new law. In a heated City Council meeting at the end of July, city officials argued for the restrictions 'because water-based instructional activities are inherently high-risk and drastically differ from activities on a beach or in a park. These requirements are designed to ensure that all operators, regardless of nonprofit status, meet the same rigorous standards necessary to protect participants, instructors, and the public.' The city of San Diego did not respond to requests for comment. Dozens of residents and youth advocates testified. 'They're citing safety and liability, but it's not based on data. It's not based on anything that we've done or any experiences that they've had with us,' said Ramon Chairez, director of education and environmental advocacy for Mar de Colores. 'If they knew who we were, they would know that we have incredible safety standards, we have one-to-one ratios with kids in terms of instructors and kids,' Chairez said. The resolution failed after community pushback and a letter from the California Coastal Commission reminding the city of the state law. City officials are now in talks with advocates to find a compromise. 'We need to make sure this summer kids can get out and experience the joy of putting their feet in the sand, standing up on a surfboard for the first time, and not being afraid of coming out and getting sick,' McCue said. Tijuana River pollution stems from decades of inadequate wastewater infrastructure on both sides of the border, compounded by rapid population growth in Tijuana. Officials from both countries recently announced new commitments to accelerate long-planned repairs. But even under the most optimistic timeline, many South Bay beaches will remain unsafe for years, said Phillip Musegaas, executive director of San Diego Coastkeeper. Dr. Vi Nguyen, a pediatrician in San Diego County, has seen the physiological toll the closures take on patient physical and mental health. 'Kids [that] don't have access to those areas is a very big concern for our pediatricians — kids need to be able, to be allowed to move their bodies, to play.' Nguyen concludes, 'playing in more natural spaces is healthier for them, we know that nature is quite restorative for kids.' Physicians are worried about rates of obesity, prediabetes, fatty liver and other metabolic diseases, she said. For advocates like Risa Bell, founder of Paddle for Peace, it is also about building environmental literacy, leadership and a sense of belonging. 'Access to the coast is not a luxury and it's not a privilege. It's a human right that's tied to health, culture and community well-being,' Bell said. 'If you want the next generation to fight for the ocean, they have to be able to safely touch it. … That's the only way that we're gonna raise the future environmental leaders that are ready to protect it not just for their communities but for everyone.' Advocates worry about 'shifting baselines' — the idea that each generation's understanding of what's normal is shaped by the degraded environment they inherit. 'Kids growing up in San Ysidro and Imperial Beach today, their experience is that the ocean's dirty and that you go in it and you get sick,' McCue said. 'We're trying to shift that to show them, actually, it doesn't have to be like this.' 'When you fall in love with the ocean, [you] grow up wanting to protect it,' Bell said. 'They're gonna grow up and be a part of that fight one day, right, but they can't protect a place that they're not even allowed to go to.'
Politico
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Newsom blinks on fire rebuilding
With help from Alex Nieves, Noah Baustin, Jennifer Yachnin and Nico Portuondo HOT ZONES: Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass initially sided with builders by easing permitting rules in wildfire-hit areas. Now they're taking a different tack. Newsom issued an executive order late Wednesday allowing Los Angeles and surrounding areas to restrict development in high severity burn areas. It's a carveout to 2021's SB 9, which allows property owners to build as many as four units on land previously reserved for single-family homes. The order recognizes 'the need for local discretion in recovery and that not all laws are designed for rebuilding entire communities destroyed by fires overnight,' Newsom said in a statement. The move plunges Newsom into the long-combustible politics of building in fire-prone areas — with a twist of Los Angeles wealth and political muscle. The order is a response to pressure from LA City Councilmember Traci Park, who sent a letter to Newsom Monday calling for a pause on increased density in her Pacific Palisades district and citing the 'overt risks' of evacuating more people from fire-prone regions. Bass quickly backed the call, saying Tuesday that added development in the Palisades 'could fundamentally alter the safety of the area.' It's a shift from the immediate aftermath of the firestorm, when Bass and Newsom rushed to waive permitting requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act in the name of speeding up rebuilding. Environmental groups who criticized those moves as reckless are now cheering the reversal. 'We're definitely happy to see that the state and local officials are recognizing the risk of building in these very high fire-prone areas,' said Elizabeth Reid-Wainscoat of the Center for Biological Diversity. She urged the state to go even further and block new development outright in burn zones, saying California needs 'neighborhoods that are safe, affordable and near transit and job centers.' The political pressure hasn't just come from the left. Online right-wing voices recently fueled a social media backlash against a bill from Sen. Ben Allen that would have created a new authority to acquire burned properties and offer them back at discounted rates. Allen paused the bill earlier this month. Now Newsom's executive order is drawing fire from the opposite direction. Pro-housing advocates warn it could set a dangerous precedent where wealthy, well-organized communities can carve themselves out of state housing law under the banner of 'fire safety.' 'If safety becomes a political football, then we're in deep trouble,' said Matt Lewis of California YIMBY. 'What does this say for all the places that don't have the power and influence when they burn?' He also questioned how much development the order would materially affect. Neither county nor city planning officials responded Wednesday to questions about how many property owners had applied for an SB 9 development in the burn scars, but a Park spokesperson said they had heard of seven. Even within the Democratic fold, the issue has proved divisive. Sen. Henry Stern, whose district includes much of western LA County, voted against SB 9 in 2021, citing his family's harrowing evacuation from Malibu during the Woolsey Fire. 'I had a very lonely vote on that bill,' Stern later said. He now has some company. — CvK Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! HARRIS OUT: Start your engines, former Rep. Katie Porter, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and other 2026 gubernatorial contenders. Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that she's not running for governor, ending her flirtation with a run that would have upended the current field. Harris, with her near-universal name identification, strong approval ratings among Democrats and a national fundraising network, would have begun the 2026 race as an imposing frontrunner, POLITICO's Melanie Mason reports. Her entry would have also put more eyes on her complicated climate policy record as gas prices and energy affordability loom as top issues in the race to replace Newsom. Harris pledged during her 2019 presidential campaign to reject fossil fuel donations — joining most of the field — and called for a ban on fracking, while promising to prosecute oil companies over their contributions to climate change. She backed away from those positions during her 2024 race against President Donald Trump, arguing during a debate in Pennsylvania that the Biden-Harris administration oversaw the largest increase in domestic oil production in U.S. history. — AN COLD COMFORT: Climate change and good news are rare bedfellows. But researchers from UC San Diego and Stanford University have found a potential sliver of sunshine. California could see 53,500 fewer deaths and 244,000 fewer hospitalizations as extreme cold becomes rarer between now and 2050, according to a paper published Wednesday in the academic journal Science Advances. That reduction in hospitalizations could save the state $53 million in healthcare costs, the researchers wrote. But there's a catch. As cold days slacken, high temperatures will send more people to the ER, to the tune of $52 million for 1.5 million excess visits through 2050, they found. 'Heat can harm health even when it doesn't kill,' said UC San Diego assistant professor Carlos Gould, one of the study's authors. — NB ANOTHER RAY: Solar power is under a barrage of attacks from the Trump administration, but one of the industry's top voices still sees room for optimism. Abigail Ross Hopper, CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, pointed to rapidly growing energy demand and last-minute Senate compromises that give clean energy projects until July 4, 2026 to start construction or the end of 2027 to begin service and still qualify for federal subsidies — rather than ending them immediately, Nico Portuondo writes for POLITICO's E&E News. 'I do think that the transition period of one year to commence construction will allow companies to pivot,' Hopper said. 'I think the sort of the word of the day, or even the rest of the year, is pivoting.' SEIA more than doubled its spending in the second quarter of 2025 to $950,000, according to lobbying disclosure reports, and launched several efforts to emphasize the impact of Inflation Reduction Act tax incentives on red states and districts. Hopper credits that effort for helping secure extra time that lawmakers like Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski fought for. Senate Republicans are still fighting for clean energy projects as the Trump administration has taken more steps to disrupt the industry in recent days, including the Interior Department's order calling for the identification of any 'preferential treatment' toward wind and solar facilities. 'They are stranding capital by precipitously ramping down some of these programs. They're going to probably regret it,' said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. Read the full Q&A with Hopper on POLITICO Pro. — AN, NP RIVER RHETORIC: California's top Colorado River water official says the state is supportive of the direction negotiations are headed, but that states in the river's lower basin need assurances they'll receive their fair share. JB Hamby, chair of the Colorado River Board of California, said in an email Tuesday that multi-state discussions around a concept known as 'natural flow', based on how much water would travel downstream without human intervention, could send 55 to 75 percent of its flow to California, Arizona and Nevada, a figure 'we believe that provides enough room to negotiate a balanced, reasonable release number.' Hamby emphasized, however, that a deal won't be reached without guarantees that states in the upper basin — Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico — will meet their end of the bargain, Jennifer Yachnin reports for POLITICO's E&E News. 'Without clear, binding commitments from all parties — including reductions or conservation — there can be no seven-state agreement,' Hamby said. Hamby warned that without those commitments, the lower basin states could demand their share under a provision of a 1922 compact that's never been invoked. The seven states face a November deadline to reach a water sharing deal or have federal officials step in with their own plan. — AN, JY — Newsom is circulating a legislative proposal to bolster a fund that covers utilities' liability in case they spark a fire — to the tune of another $18 billion, according to Bloomberg. — The United Nations' top official is calling on major tech firms to fully power data centers with renewable energy by 2030. — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy writes in an op-ed that Newsom's defense of high-speed rail shows he 'has no clue what functional government looks like.'
Business Journals
24-07-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Karen Bass signs orders to aid rebuilding in Pacific Palisades
Story Highlights Mayor Karen Bass issues two executive actions to expedite rebuilding in the Palisades. Emergency Executive Order 8 streamlines permitting for larger home rebuilds. Executive Directive 13 creates preapproved design library for rebuilding homes. Los Angeles is launching two new actions to speed up rebuilding in the Pacific Palisades. Mayor Karen Bass issued two executive actions this week to expedite the rebuilding process in the L.A. neighborhood that was ravaged by January's wildfires: Emergency Executive Order 8 and Executive Directive 13. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events Emergency Executive Order 8 will continue the city's efforts to streamline the permitting process for homeowners looking to rebuild homes larger than those damaged. The order expands the scope of single-family home projects eligible for the state's emergency suspension of the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act. By waiving local Coastal Act review processes, 'as long as common-sense streamlined environmental protections are in place,' the order aims to create an expanded pathway for the rebuilding of single-family homes in the Coastal Zone that do not qualify as 'like-for-like,' which are projects with structures of the same size, in the same location and for the same purpose as the previous structures that were damaged or destroyed by the fire. The order adds to the streamlined processes established in Emergency Executive Order 1, signed by Bass less than a week after the start of the wildfires. Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 130, which creates a new class of residential development that doesn't require review under CEQA, which often delays development in California. The other initiative, Executive Directive 13, will launch a pilot program for single-family homes, creating a virtual library of preapproved, code-compliant designs to fast-track rebuild projects available for the public. The city plans to issue an open call to architects and building professionals for designs. The city reported that debris removal in the Palisades is more than 85% complete, which Bass said puts Los Angeles' recovery after the fires 'on track to be the fastest in modern California history.' Nearly 300 rebuilding plans have been approved by the city. 'With debris removal months ahead of expectations, construction underway and new action taken today to further streamline the rebuilding process, we continue to push forward in our all out effort to get families home,' Bass said in a statement. Sign up for Business First's free daily newsletter to receive the latest business news impacting Los Angeles.
Vox
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Vox
Why it's taking LA so long to rebuild
is a correspondent at Vox writing about climate change, energy policy, and science. He is also a regular contributor to the radio program Science Friday. Prior to Vox, he was a reporter for ClimateWire at E&E News. Sisters Emilee and Natalee De Santiago sit together on the front porch of what remains of their home on January 19, 2025, in Altadena, the wake of the record-breaking wildfires in Los Angeles in January — some of the most expensive and destructive blazes in history — one of the first things California Gov. Gavin Newsom did was to sign an executive order suspending environmental rules around rebuilding. The idea was that by waiving permitting regulations and reviews under the California Coastal Act and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), homeowners and builders could start cleaning up, putting up walls, and getting people back into houses faster. But that raised a key question for housing advocates: Could California do something similar for the whole state? Earlier this month, Newsom took a step in that direction, signing two bills that would exempt most urban housing from environmental reviews and make it easier for cities to increase housing by changing zoning laws. Newsom also signed another executive order that suspends some local permitting laws and building codes for fire-afflicted communities with the aim of further speeding up reconstruction. Los Angeles is a critical case study for housing for the whole state, a test of whether the Democratic-controlled government can coordinate its conflicting political bases — unions, environmental groups, housing advocates — with a desperate need for more homes. Revising the state's environmental laws was seen by some observers as a sign that the Golden State was finally seeing the light. Related California just showed that a better Democratic Party is possible But despite the relaxed rules, progress in LA has been sluggish. More than 800 homeowners in areas affected by wildfires applied for rebuilding permits as of July 7, according to the Los Angeles Times. Fewer than 200 have received the green light, however. The City of Los Angeles takes about 55 days on average to approve a wildfire rebuild, and the broader Los Angeles County takes even longer. (Los Angeles County has a dashboard to track permitting approvals in unincorporated areas.) 'LA's process is super slow, so that's not surprising,' said Elisa Paster, a managing partner at Rand Paster Nelson based in Los Angeles and specializing in land use law. 'Anecdotally, we've heard that a lot of people have decided they don't want to go through the process of rebuilding in LA because it is quite onerous.' Now, half a year out after the embers have died down, it's clear that changing the rules isn't enough. Advocates for CEQA say the 55-year-old law is really a scapegoat for bigger, more intractable housing problems. Other factors, like more expensive construction materials and labor shortages, are still driving up housing construction costs, regardless of permitting speeds. And some environmental groups worry that the rush to rebuild everything as it was could recreate the conditions that led to the blazes in the first place, a dangerous prospect in an area where wildfire risks are only growing. How CEQA reforms can and can't help communities harmed by wildfires CEQA is one of California's tentpole environmental laws, signed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1970. It requires that state and local governments preemptively look for any potential environmental harms from a construction project, like water pollution, threats to endangered species, and later, greenhouse gas emissions. Developers need to disclose these issues and take steps to avoid them. The law also allows the public to weigh in on new developments. In the years since, CEQA has been blamed as a barrier to new construction. Many critics see it as a cynical tool wielded to prevent new housing construction in wealthy communities, even being invoked to challenge highway closures and new parks on environmental grounds. It's one of the villains of the 'abundance' movement that advocates for cutting red tape to build more homes and clean energy. However, CEQA isn't necessarily the gatekeeper to rebuilding single-family homes after wildfires, according to Matthew Baker, policy director at Planning and Conservation League, a nonprofit that helped shepherd CEQA in the first place. For one thing, CEQA already has broad exemptions for replacing and rebuilding structures and new construction of 'small' structures like single-family homes. 'Our general take is that the executive orders around revoking environmental review and environmental regulations around the rebuilding [after the fires] did little to nothing beyond what was already in existing law,' Baker said. He added that the vast majority of projects that face CEQA review get the go-ahead, and less than 2 percent of proposals face litigation. An aerial view shows homes burned in the Eaton Fire on February 5, 2025, in Altadena, the mere threat of a lawsuit and the precautions to avoid one can become a significant hurdle on its own. 'CEQA can be an expensive and lengthy process, especially for large or complicated projects. This is true even if there is not litigation,' according to a 2024 report from California's Little Hoover Commission, the state's independent oversight agency. 'Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report under CEQA can take a year or longer and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even, in some cases, more than $1 million.' In addition, CEQA does come into play for people who want to make more extensive changes to their property as they rebuild, like if they want to expand their floorspace more than 10 percent beyond their original floor plan. The law is also triggered by broader wildfire risk reduction initiatives, namely brush clearance and controlled burns, as well as infrastructure upgrades like putting power lines underground to prevent fire ignitions or installing more pipelines and cisterns for water to help with firefighting. Exempting these projects could help communities build fire resilience faster. For multifamily homes like duplexes and apartment buildings, CEQA can be an obstacle, too, if the developer wants to rebuild with more units. 'We have multifamily buildings in the Palisades that had rent-controlled units, and what we've been hearing from some of these property owners is like, 'Yeah, sure. I had 20 rent-controlled units there before, but I can't afford to just rebuild 20.' Those people want to go back and build 50 units, 20 of which could be rent-controlled, or all of which are rent-controlled.' By bypassing CEQA, higher-density housing has an easier path to completion. Environmental regulations aren't the only barriers to rebuilding Rebuilding after fires is always going to be expensive. Your home may have been built and sold in the 1970s, but you'll have to pay 2025 prices for materials and labor when you rebuild. California already faces some of the highest housing costs in the country and a shortage of construction workers. The Trump administration is pushing the price tag higher with tariffs on components like lumber and its campaign to deport people. About 41 percent of workers in California's construction industry are immigrants, and 14 percent are undocumented. But even before they can rebuild, one of the biggest challenges for people who have lost their homes is simply becoming whole after a loss. 'From the clients that I've spoken to, they've had to argue with their insurance company to get full replacement value or reasonable compensation, and that's where they're getting stuck,' said David Hertz, an architect based in Santa Monica. On top of the tedious claims process, insurance companies in California have been dropping some of their customers in high fire-risk areas, leaving them no option besides the FAIR Plan, the state's high-priced, limited-coverage insurer of last resort. But after the multibillion-dollar losses from the Los Angeles fires, the FAIR Plan had to collect an additional $1 billion from its member companies, a move that will raise property insurance prices. People who can't get property insurance can't get a mortgage from most lenders. There's also the concern of exactly where and how homes are rebuilt. In 2008, California updated its building codes to make structures more resistant to wildfires, but bringing burned-down old homes to new standards in high fire risk areas adds to the timeline and the price tag. 'There's this tension between all of us wanting to have people be able to rebuild their homes in their communities, and there's the question of 'Are we just going to build back the same thing in the same unsafe place? Are we going to try to do things better?' Baker said. All the while, wildfires are becoming more destructive. Wildfires are a natural part of Southern California's landscape, but more people are crowding into areas that are primed to burn, and the danger zones are widening. That increases the chances of a wildfire ignition and makes the ensuing blazes more damaging. With average temperatures rising, California is seeing more aggressive swings between severe rainfall and drought. The 2025 Los Angeles fires were preceded in 2024 by one of the wettest winters in the region's history, followed by one of the hottest summers on record, and bookended by one of the driest starts to winter. It created the ideal conditions for ample dry grasses and chaparral that fueled the infernos. Related 5 approaches that experts say are our best shot at surviving future wildfires 'The question is, how does one really exist within a natural system that's designed to burn?' Hertz said. Reducing wildfire risk on a wider scale requires coordination between neighbors. For example, Hertz said that in many of the communities that burned, there are likely many residents who won't come back. Neighbors could coordinate to buy up and swap vacant land parcels to create a defensible space with fire-resistant trees like oak to serve as fire breaks and water storage to help respond to future blazes. Hertz himself leads a community brigade, trained volunteers who work to reduce wildfire risk in their neighborhoods. He also cautioned that while there's a lot of well-deserved pushback against regulations like CEQA, the reasoning behind it remains sound. Development without any environmental considerations could put more homes in the path of danger and destroy the ecosystems that make California such an attractive place to live. 'I think there's a balance,' Hertz said. 'Nature doesn't have its own voice.' At the same time, without speeding up the pace at which California restores the homes that were lost and builds new ones, the housing crisis will only get worse. The state will become unlivable for many residents. Long after the burn scars fade and new facades are erected, communities will be altered permanently.
Los Angeles Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Paul Hasting Adds Preeminent 5-Partner Real Estate Team in Los Angeles
In a move that brings together one of the most highly regarded land use teams in California and Paul Hastings' elite real estate group, the firm announced the addition of partners DJ Moore, Beth Gordie, Winston Stromberg, Benjamin Hanelin and Lauren Paull in Los Angeles. The team joins from Latham & Watkins, uniting two top-ranked Chambers practices. The group has extensive experience advising landowners, developers, project sponsors, institutions and utilities throughout California on securing the full range of local, regional, state and federal approvals necessary to permit and construct development and infrastructure projects, as well as compliance with all associated environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, California Environmental Quality Act, California Coastal Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many others. 'The real estate sector and California continue to be strategic priorities for the firm, and the team brings an extensive track record of success in high-stakes real estate matters across the state,' said Paul Hastings chair Frank Lopez. 'They are another fantastic addition to our preeminent real estate platform, further strengthening our ability to provide our clients with premier support on their most complex matters involving real estate zoning and environmental matters and more broadly.' Moore's practice focuses on helping clients obtain and defend land use entitlement and environmental approvals from government agencies for major infrastructure, energy and development projects. Gordie focuses on advising landowners and developers through all stages of the entitlement and development process, providing counsel to clients on local planning and zoning regulations, complex regulatory frameworks, government approvals and related environmental matters. Stromberg advises major energy, infrastructure and real estate project developers on land use entitlements, environmental approvals and administrative hearings with a principal focus on litigation arising out of such processes. A former judicial clerk in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of California, Hanelin has worked on some of the largest development projects in Southern California over the last 20 years. With a focus on major infrastructure projects, logistics facilities, data centers, film and television developments and California Environmental Quality Act litigation, he guides developers and institutions on state, federal and local planning and zoning regulations and defends any litigation that follows. Paull advises landowners and developers through all stages of the entitlement and development process, counseling clients on planning and zoning regulations, approvals and related environmental matters. 'Paul Hastings' real estate practice has had undeniable momentum and has differentiated itself as a premier, full-service offering at the top of the market,' said Moore. 'We're incredibly excited to continue our work together at Paul Hastings while offering our clients unparalleled service to meet all of their needs with some of the most impressive talent in the industry.' Information sourced from Paul Hastings. For more information, contact christophersumano@
