Home Building & Other Land Development
Land development activities frequently trigger complex legal issues
associated with endangered species protection, wetlands-area
development, storm water control, historic preservation, and
environmental planning. Our lawyers are expert in developing compliance
strategies under the various federal and state counterpart statutes that
apply to development activities on private and public lands, including
NEPA, NHPA, ESA, and CWA, and defending those strategies against
government enforcement actions and citizen suits when necessary. Our
work has included:
- Defending a large national home builder in a nationwide enforcement action for alleged violations of EPA’s storm water program.
- Representing the National Association of Home Builders in
litigation brought by environmentalists challenging EPA’s general permit
for storm water discharges, and successfully moving for dismissal of
those claims on standing grounds. Texas Independent Royalty Producers & Owners Association v. EPA, 410 F.3d 964 (7th Cir. 2005).
- Assisting the largest private landowner in California in its
efforts to develop an entire city, including negotiating a habitat
conservation plan and incidental take permit under the ESA.
- Providing ESA and NEPA compliance counseling for the developer
of a ski resort in Colorado, including assessing litigation strategies
to overcome challenges by local environmental organizations during
project implementation.