David Waite has practiced land use and environmental law for over 20 years. His real estate development practice includes zoning, CEQA compliance, discretionary permits and entitlements, subdivisions, development agreements, public-private partnerships, infrastructure agreements, and compliance with climate change laws. David regularly appears before planning commissions, city councils, redevelopment agencies and other federal, state and local governmental agencies on land use and regulatory matters. David has litigated to final judgment a variety of land use matters under California and federal law. David's environmental practice includes environmental regulatory compliance, CERCLA, RCRA and Proposition 65 litigation. David advises clients on transactional matters involving environmentally impaired real property. David represents a variety of lenders and institutional investors on the land use and environmental aspects of foreclosures, workouts and debt restructurings.

At the Urban Land Institute's 2011 conference on the Future of Planned Communities,
David Waite discusses the challenges of entitling projects in California.

Representative Experience:

Land Use Matters 

• On behalf of Forest Law Memorial Parks & Mortuaries, litigated through trial an agreement to develop a cemetery and mortuary facility at the former El Toro Marine Cops Air Station ("Heritage Fields and Great Parks Neighborhoods")
• On behalf of iStar Financial, processing land use entitlements and regulatory approvals for a 1,135 unit "Ponte Vista" subdivision and mixed-use development project located in the City of Los Angeles
• Obtain entitlements and discretionary approvals for adaptive reuse of Hollywood's Historic Security Pacific Bank to develop a boutique hotel and nightclub
• Obtain entitlements and discretionary approvals from Culver City Redevelopment Agency to construct a 12-story 250,000 square foot LEED certified office building located in Corporate Pointe for IDS Real Estate Services
• Process entitlements to develop 135-unit mixed use, transit oriented development in Culver City at Exposition Light Rail Station
• Obtain approvals and permit extensions to develop Mammoth 8050, a fractional interest private residence club located in Mammoth Lakes, California
• Secure entitlements and multi-jurisdictional state and federal approvals to develop the "Shadowrock" destination resort located in Palm Springs, California; defend litigation initiated by the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity challenging project approvals
• Secure entitlements and discretionary approvals for El Paseo Village shopping center expansion in City of Palm Desert, California
• Prosecution of CEQA challenge against the City of Brea for failure to prepare an EIR in connection with the adoption of a hillside protection ordinance; secure entitlements and environmental clearances to develop controversial 369 acre/250 unit hillside subdivision know as "Canyon Crest"
• Secure multi-jurisdictional entitlements to develop two large multi-unit master-planned communities in Riverside County known as Spring Mountain Ranch and Springbrook Estates
• Secure specific plan approvals to develop a multi-phased 500 acre/2,000 unit master-planned community in Fresno County
• Pursue entitlements and environmental clearances from the City of Redlands for regional shopping center
• Secure entitlements and land use approvals for a variety of condominium conversion and condo-hotel projects located throughout Southern California
• Representation of property owner in the acquisition and repositioning of a 650-unit multi-family apartment project in Lakewood, California
• Secure entitlements from Culver City to develop The HELP Group's educational campus for developmentally disabled children
• On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, opposed restart of the AES 950’s-vintage power plant; obtaining restrictions on permit duration and required sale of energy under contract with California Department of Water Resources
• On behalf of the Baldwin Hills Homeowners Association, successfully opposed siting of a "peaker" power plant in Baldwin Hills State Park impacting unique urban parklands
• Represented lender in connection with proposed financing of the Playa Vista master planned community located in Los Angeles
• Prosecution of inverse condemnation action against the City of San Diego for regulatory taking of property located in the San Dieguito River Valley
• Prosecution of breach of contract action against the City of Thousand Oaks for breach of a development agreement
• Prosecution of action against the City of Calabasas, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the Las Virgines Municipal Water District for breach of a development agreement and vesting tentative tract maps
• Representation of owner of commercial property located in historic Hollywood in a CEQA challenge directed to the CRA's findings related to the adequacy of parking facilities
• Defense of CEQA challenges against the SCAQMD and the City of Rialto for construction of resource recovery facility
• Defense of property owner in condemnation proceedings brought by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on the grounds that the entity failed to comply with CEQA prior to adopting resolution of necessity
• Prosecution of mandamus and inverse condemnation action against the City of Irwindale on behalf of the quarry operator arising out of City's unlawful denial of quarry expansion application

Environmental Matters

• Obtain environmental clearances and approvals to develop a 2,000-unit master-planned community on 161-acres of former sugar cane fields on Oahu, Hawaii
• Defense of hotel and apartment owners and operators in Proposition 65 litigation involving secondhand tobacco smoke (California Hotel & Lodging Association and California Apartment Association)
• Defense of Landry's restaurants in Proposition 65 litigation involving claimed exposures to mercury in fish and seafood
• Defense of variety of Proposition 65 matters involving importation and sale of vinyl lunchboxes and sale of glassware containing colored artwork
• Prosecution of RCRA citizen's suit for injunctive relief on behalf of the City of La Habra against the County of Orange at a closed landfill site
• Representation of American Golf Corporation in dispute with County of Orange regarding responsibility for implementation of landfill gas control systems and other landfill environmental monitoring systems
• Prosecution of CERCLA cost recovery action on behalf of City of Huntington Beach against lessee of former gun range facility located in the City of Huntington Beach
• Defense of 29 municipalities in cost recovery litigation under CERCLA involving the Operating Industries, Inc. Superfund site
• Transactional due diligence on portfolio of 250 golf course properties in connection with the sale of National Golf Property assets
• Representation of cemetery and mortuary owner and operator on stormwater permitting and compliance proceedings
• Representation of property owner in cost recovery litigation against adjacent service station owner based on migration of petroleum contamination from leaking underground fuel storage tanks
• Defense of importer of vinyl miniblinds in Proposition 65 lead litigation initiated by the Attorney General of California
• Representation of Barclay Hollander Corporation in dispute with Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts involving the adequacy of landfill's environmental control systems
• Representation of numerous clients seeking "no further action" status before state and local regulatory agencies
• Representation of numerous clients in structured acquisitions of environmentally contaminated sites using third party environmental insurance and risk management products

Expert Witness

• K&S Property, LLC v. Villa Development, LLC; Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC 361891 - November 2007 (Testified on Adequacy of Purchaser's Due Diligence)
  

I grew up in Wisconsin.
My heroes are members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team.
The word that best describes me is ‘focused.’