Land Use & Planning
Zoning is the main planning tool of local government to manage the future development of a community, protect neighborhoods, concentrate retail business and industry, channel traffic. It is also a method of controlling urban and suburban construction and removing congestion and other defects of existing plans. Typical zoning regulations address building height, bulk, lot area, setbacks, parking, signage, and density.
Ms. Day-Wilson has gained specialized experience in this area through her successful defense of numerous CEQA actions against public agencies as the lead agency including the project proponents.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a statute that requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible. CEQA also applies to private projects that involve governmental participation, financing, or approval. The failure to comply can have significant impacts to development. Ms. Day-Wilson has successfully defended public agencies across the state in CEQA litigation. In addition, she has gone through two General Plan Updates and the development of their accompanying Environmental Impact Reports (EIRS) with the City of Santee, California and the City of Eureka California.
In addition, she has worked with federal agencies on joint state/federal projects requiring not only CEQA but NEPA compliance.
California Coastal Commission
Over forty years ago, voters passed Proposition 20, the California Coastal Conservation Initiative which created the Coastal Commission. Four years later, the State Legislature enacted the California Coastal Act, which is the primary law that governs the decisions of the Coastal Commission. The Act outlines, among other things, standards for development within the Coastal Zone.
The Coastal Zone encompasses 1.5 million acres of land, and stretches from three miles at sea to an inland boundary that varies from several blocks in urban areas to as much as five miles in less developed areas. Covering 1,100 miles of California coastline from Oregon to Mexico, including 287 miles of shoreline surrounding nine off-shore islands, the Coastal Zone extends into federal waters under the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act.
The Coastal Act is umbrella legislation designed to encourage local governments to create Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) to govern decisions that determine the short- and long-term conservation and use of coastal resources. These LCPs can be thought of as the equivalent of General Plans for areas within the Coastal Zone.
Thus, any development within the coastal zone of Humboldt County and the City of Eureka must be undertaken in compliance with the Coastal Act and the respective jurisdictions LCP.
Ms. Day-Wilson has experience on both the public agency and developer side with regard to:
Local Coastal Program Amendments
Coastal Development Permits
Defense of Enforcement Actions by the Coastal Commission
Property Acquisition / Project Development
Property Acquisition
Purchases
Leases
Project Development
Zoning
Entitlements
CEQA/NEPA compliance
Private/Public Partnerships
Tribal Issues
Coastal Commission
Cannabis