Law Seminars International Presents: A Comprehensive Two-Day Conference on

Land Use & Climate Change
Impacts on planning and project approvals

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June 16 & 17, 2008
Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles in Los Angeles, CA

Who Should Attend

Attorneys, local governments, planners, engineers, consultants and developers

Why Attend

To date, most of the efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions in response to climate change, have focused on electric power generation and transportation. As those efforts mature, more and more attention is being paid to land use planning and project review at the local level.

California, Washington, Oregon and Massachusetts have all passed legislation seeking to regulate GHG emissions in private development and environmentally sensitive projects through their environmental review process.

California passed a landmark statute, AB 32, which requires local governments to consider global warming impacts as part of their planning processes. The settlement agreement between the state and San Bernardino County sheds some light on how the state plans to implement that policy. There is a growing list of other pioneering efforts by local governments that we will address.

For this first-of-its-kind conference, we have assembled experts from early adopter jurisdictions, as well as leading California land use professionals, to provide insights for the local governments attorneys, planners, consultants and developers. Hear about the factors that go into a successful regulatory program, the appropriate scope of local review in Marin County and the City of Irvine and surrounding regions, and the best way for developers to respond to the concerns leading to these new regulations.

~ Program Co-Chairs: John C. Condas, Esq. and William R. Devine, Esq.

You Will Learn About

Agenda

Monday, June 16, 2008

8:00 am

Registration and Continental Breakfast

 
8:30 am

Introduction and Overview

John C. Condas, Esq., Program Co-Chair
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP / Irvine, CA

William R. Devine, Esq., Program Co-Chair
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP / Irvine, CA

 
8:45 am

Climate and Land Use Change in California

The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report; California Assessment Studies; the impacts of land use change with changing climate

Norman L. Miller, Ph.D., Staff Hydrometeorologist
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory / Berkeley, CA

 
9:30 am

National and International Governmental Actions and their Interplay with Local Initiatives

International (Kyoto & Bali); Bush administration; 2007 Federal Energy Bill; political climate for future Federal legislation; Massachusetts v. EPA and other key cases; pending litigation following the EPA denial

Peter Hsiao, Esq.
Morrison & Foerster LLP / Los Angeles, CA

 
10:15 am

Break

 
10:30 am

Lessons from Early Adoption of Local Climate Change Initiatives in Other States

National update: U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement; trends in early climate change action plans

The Hon. Marty Blum, Mayor
City of Santa Barbara / Santa Barbara, CA

Case study of Washington's King County executive order requiring agencies to include climate change impacts in enviromental review

Eric Laschever, Esq.
Stoel Rives LLP / Seattle, WA

 
12:00 pm

Lunch (on your own)

 
1:15 pm

Special Address: California's Strategy for Addressing Climate Change

Where California policies are heading and the direction the state would like to see local land use policies take; implications for local governments of California's participation in the Western Climate Initiative and other regional efforts

Andrew Altevogt, Ph.D., Climate Change Program Manager
California Environmental Protection Agency / Sacramento, CA

 
2:00 pm

The Interplay Among California's Statutory Provisions, Administrative Rules and Administrative Authorities

The historical context and resulting provisions arising from AB 1493, Executive Order S-3-05, AB 32, SB 1368, SB 97, SB 375 and other key elements of California's climate change strategy

Robert J. Uram, Esq.
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP / San Francisco, CA

Update on activities at the Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commisision and other key administrative players: To what extent are they acting in harmony and to what extent at cross purposes?

Jeffrey B. Margulies, Esq.
Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. / Los Angeles, CA

 
3:15 pm

Break

 
3:30 pm

Stakeholder Perspectives

Developer perspective

Amy Freilich, Esq., Land Use Counsel & Sr. VP Acquisitions & Entitlements
SunCal Companies / Woodland Hills, CA

Environmental interest group perspective

Jonathan Evans, Esq., Staff Attorney
Center for Biological Diversity / Los Angeles, CA

Local government perspective

Beth S, Dorris, Esq.
Best Best & Kreiger LLP / Los Angeles, CA

 
5:00 pm

Continue the Exchange of Ideas: Reception for Faculty and Attendees Sponsored by Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP

 

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

8:00 am

Registration and Continental Breakfast

 
8:30 am

NEPA: How Do Recent Decisions Impact CEQA?

How NEPA decisions impact CEQA; Natural Resource Damages decisions; determining how specific federal agencies will deal with climate change issues

Nicholas C. Yost, Esq.
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP / San Francisco, CA

 
9:00 am

CEQA: What Are the Different Approaches to Take in a CEQA Document? How Do You Determine Which Best Suits the Situation?

EIR or ND and Fair Argument Standard; environmental setting baseline; significant effects and thresholds; project specific or cumulative impacts; speculation; mitigation; actions of Attorney General; recent litigation

John C. Condas, Esq., Program Co-Chair, Moderator
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP / Irvine, CA

William R. Devine, Esq., Program Co-Chair
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP / Irvine, CA

Shari B. Libicki, Ph.D., Global Air Quality Practice Area Leader
ENVIRON Holdings, Inc. / San Francisco, CA

Christopher Pyke, Ph.D., Director of Climate Change Services
CTG Energetics, Inc. / Alexandria, VA

Stephan C. Volker, Esq.
Law Offices of Stephan C. Volker / Oakland, CA

 
10:30 am

Break

 
10:45 am

Implications of the San Bernardino County-California Attorney General Settlement for Other Local Governments

Bart W. Brizzee, Esq., Deputy County Counsel
San Bernardino County Counsel / San Bernardino, CA

Julie Rynerson Rock, AICP, Land Use Services Director
San Bernardino County / San Bernardino, CA

 
11:15 am

Case Studies of Local Government Action and Requirements in California

City of Irvine

Chandra Krout, AICP LEED AP, Environmental Programs Administrator Department of Community Development
City of Irvine / Irvine, CA

Marin County: Climate change provisions in the general plan; Sustainability Program (recipient of the American Planning Association’s 2008 National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation)

Alex Hinds, Director of Community Development
Marin County Community Development Agency / San Rafael, CA

 
12:15 pm

Lunch (on your own)

 
1:30 pm

The Pervasive Importance of Water Supply and Quality

State policy concerns about water supply; rising sea levels in coastal areas with resulting flooding; salt water intrusion; prospects for greater problems from wildfires

John T. Andrew, P.E., Executive Manager for Climate Change
California Department of Water Resources / Sacramento, CA

Update on current water rights issues

Stuart L. Somach, Esq.
Somach Simmons & Dunn / Sacramento, CA

Update on current water quality issues

Paul S. Weiland, Esq.
Nossaman Guthner Knox Elliott LLP / Irvine, CA

 
3:00 pm

Break

 
3:15 pm

Developer Perspectives on Preparing for the Future: Green Building and LEED Certification as a Critical Component for Reducing Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Sustainable development and green building policies and ordinances; the practicalities of building green; certification processes; ways of achieving government policy goals and meeting the demands of the market in a cost-effective way

Claire Bonham-Carter, Director of Sustainable Development, Moderator
Edaw Inc. / San Francisco, CA

Sabina Shaikh, Ph.D., Lecturer of Public Policy, Environmental Studies and Economics
University of Chicago / Chicago, IL

Daniel Cashdan, Senior Managing Director
HFF Securities, L.P. / Los Angeles, CA

 
5:00 pm

Evaluations and Adjourn

 

Tuition

Regular tuition for this program is $895 with a group rate of $795 each for two or more registrants from the same firm. For government employees, we offer a special rate of $695. For students and people in their job for less than a year, our rate is $447.50. All rates include admission to all seminar sessions, food and beverages at breaks, and all course materials. Make checks payable to Law Seminars International.

Cancellation & Substitution

You may substitute another person at any time. We will refund tuition, less a $50 cancellation fee, if we receive your cancellation by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, 2008. After that time, we will credit your tuition toward attendance at another program or the purchase of a Homestudy. There is a $25 cancellation fee for Course Materials orders and $50 for Homestudy orders.

Continuing Education Credits

Law Seminars International is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. This program qualifies for 13.5 California MCLE credits. Upon request, we will apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.

Location

The conference will be held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles at 506 South Grand Avenue in Los Angeles, CA 90071-2607. Call the hotel directly at (800) 245-8673 for reservations at the special negotiated rate of $259 and mention that you are attending a Law Seminars International conference. Rooms are on a first come, first served basis.
More about the Location
Map & Directions

If You Cannot Attend

Our complete Homestudy Course, consisting of a DVD recording and the written course materials, is available for $905. The written course materials alone are available for $100. We will ship your Homestudy order via UPS ground within two weeks after the seminar or the date we receive payment (whichever is later).
Order Homestudy

Faculty Bios

John C. Condas, Program Co-Chair, partner at Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP and Chair of the Land Use and Natural Resources Practice Group, focuses on land use and environmental approvals, multiple species habitat and green building requirements and related litigation. He was named a "Super Lawyer" by Los Angeles Magazine.

William R. Devine, Program Co-Chair, partner at Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP, focuses on land use, environmental and natural resources aspects of real estate development, power producers and other entitlement issues. Previously he was at the Solicitor's Office of the U.S. Department of Interior.

Andrew Altevogt, Special Address, Ph.D., Climate Change Advisor in the Office of the Secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency, coordinates climate change policy implementation across state government and assists in coordinating the Climate Action Team and related greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

Claire Bonham-Carter, Moderator, Director of Sustainable Development, implements sustainable practices and operations for both DMJM H&N and EDAW (AECOM), and contributes to sustainability elements in new communities, master plans and policies.

John T. Andrew. P.E. is Executive Manager for Climate Change for the California Department of Water Resources. Previously he was DWR's Chief of Special Planning Projects.

The Hon. Marty Blum, Mayor of the City of Santa Barbara, emphasizes services for the residents, economic development support and care for the environment.

Bart Brizzee, Deputy County Counsel, San Bernardino County Counsel, advises the County Land Use Services Department.

Daniel Cashdan, Senior Managing Director at HFF Securities, L.P., real estate investment banking affiliate of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P., focuses on managing client relationships and raising capital for investment banking clients of the firm.

Beth S. Dorris, partner in the Natural Resources Group at Best Best & Kreiger, represents publc and private clients under CEQA, NEPA, RCRA and CERCLA. Previously she was in-house counsel for ARCO.

Jonathan Evans, Staff Attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity within the Climate Air and Energy and Urban Wildlands Programs, litigates challenges to environmental review under CEQA for failing to analyze global warming and greenhouse gas emissions.

Amy Freilich, Land Use Counsel and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Entitlements at SunCal Companies, supervises its acquisition and entitlement matters and land use, water, legislative and regulatory strategy.

Alex Hinds, Director of Community Development for the Marin County Community Development Agency, oversees the building, environmental health, federal grants and planning divisions.

Peter Hsiao, partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP, is head of the Land Use and Environmental Law Group, focusing on complex litigation with a specialty in environmental laws and chemical regulations in the United States and internationally. He is listed as one of the best environmental lawyers by Who's Who Legal and Los Angeless Magazine.

Chandra Krout is the Environmental Programs Administrator at the City of Irvine, Department of Community Development. She manages the City's green building programs, climate change initiatives, energy master planning and sustainable design projects.

Eric Laschever, principal with Stoel Rives LLP in land use, environmental and hazardous waste law, focuses on compliance with the Washington Growth Management Act and helps private and public clients secure permits and approvals needed to implement large infrastructure, energy and complex projects.

Shari B. Libicki, Ph.D., Global Air Quality Practice Area Leader at ENVIRON Holdings, Inc., specializes in air quality and greenhouse gas management.

Jeffrey B. Margulies, partner and founding member of the firm's Climate Change Practice Group at Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., advises on international, federal, state and local environmental and regulatory issues.

Norman L. Miller, Ph.D., Staff Hydrometeorologist in the Climate Science Department, Earth Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, leads the Hydroclimate and Impacts Research Group.

Christopher Pyke, Ph.D., Director of Climate Change Services at CTG Energetics, Inc., helps clients understand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while preparing for changing climatic conditions.

Julie Rynerson Rock, AICP, Land Use Services Director for San Bernardino County, provides land use planning, building and safety and code enforcement services to property owners within the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County.

Sabina Shaikh, Ph.D., Lecturer of Public Policy, Environmental Studies and Economics at the University of Chicago, is also a Senior Research Economist at RCF, Inc. on economics of climate change policy, market-based instruments for air and water pollution control and Great Lakes restoration policy.

Stuart L. Somach, shareholder at Somach Simmons & Dunn, focuses on water, natural resources and environmental law.

Robert J. Uram, partner in the Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental Practice Groups at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, LLP, specializes in wetlands and related state and federal laws, working extensively with land developers, master plan communities and home builders.
Full bio and contact info for Robert J. Uram at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Stephan C. Volker, founder of the Law Offices of Stephan C. Volker, focuses on environmental litigation including land use, water rights, forest management, endangered species, agricultural preservation and river protection.

Paul S. Weiland, partner at Nossaman Guthner Knox Elliott LLP, focuses on environmental compliance counseling, permitting and litigation.

Nicholas C. Yost, partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, focuses on environmental law including compliance, obtaining permits and authorizations, due diligence and litigation.

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