Edgar Khalatian

Edgar Khalatian is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Los Angeles office. He primarily represents investors and developers in all aspects of real estate transactions, focusing on land use entitlement matters and CEQA compliance.

Edgar has extensive experience in land use regulation and obtaining entitlements for real estate development projects, including residential development, mixed use projects, compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, drafting development agreements, and water supply issues.

He also has experience in the planning and implementation of all necessary steps involved in guiding master planned communities from original design to completion, including challenges to project approvals. In addition, he has experience with SB 221 and SB 610 statutes on water supply. He also assists in the litigation of cases at both the trial and appellate level.

Edgar has been involved with several high-profile and complex land use projects in California, including a 3 million square foot mixed use project in downtown Los Angeles; an innovative 875,000 square foot mixed use project in Hollywood; a 225,000 square foot mixed use project on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood on the famed House of Blues site; and the addition of a 300,000 square foot Class A office building on a site adjacent to a hotel in Culver City.

Additionally, he has represented the J. Paul Getty Trust for land use related issue involving the Getty’s property holdings and its relations with the neighboring communities; Lennar/Heritage Fields in its project involving a 4,600-acre master planned community located on the former El Toro Marine Base in Irvine; and Newhall Land & Farming/Lennar in a 700-acre master planned community with 1,000 residential units located in Santa Clarita.

As an active member of the land use community, Edgar was recently appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Michael LoGrande, Director of the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, to serve as co-chair of the Los Angeles Zoning Advisory Committee.

In this role, he regularly works with the Planning Department to revise the City’s outdated zoning code. He also is chairman of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association’s ’s Land Use Committee. The Daily Journal recently named Edgar one of California’s Top 50 Development lawyers.

Edgar was also recently named a “Super Lawyer” and has been selected to the 2015 Southern California Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers Magazine. He is a licensed real estate broker and a registered lobbyist in the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood.

Education :

• Southwestern Law School, JD
• California State University, BA

Admissions : California

Activities :

• Co-Chair of ReCode LA’s Zoning Advisory Committee
• Chairman of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association  Land Use Committee
• Licensed real estate broker
• Registered lobbyist in the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood
• Member of the State Bar of California

Experience :

• Representing Harvard-Westlake School in obtaining entitlements for a three-story, 750-space parking structure with an athletic field on top in Studio City. The project includes a pedestrian bridge crossing over Coldwater Canyon Avenue to connect the parking structure with the campus. Harvard-Westlake will make significant improvements to local streets to improve traffic flow on Coldwater Canyon. In addition, the project includes the vacation of air space over Coldwater Canyon and the vacation of a paper street. This project involves negotiations with several community groups and CEQA compliance through the preparation of an EIR.
• Representing iStar Financial in obtaining entitlements to redevelop the 23-acre Valley Plaza site in North Hollywood with hundreds of residential dwelling units with a significant commercial component. The project may involve the condemnation of private property and will likely involve the relocation of a public park, which has never occurred in the City of Los Angeles. In addition, the project will include a supplement sign district to permit off-site advertising. This project involves the negotiation of a development agreement, a community benefits package and CEQA compliance through the preparation of an EIR.
• Representing Honda of Downtown Los Angeles with the entitlement of a new car dealership adjacent to the Los Angeles Coliseum. The project involves the acquisition of property from the City of Los Angeles.
• Represented Watt Investment Partners with the acquisition of an office building in Los Angeles that was converted into a medical office building.
• Represented* the Downtown Women’s Center with the entitlement for a 70,000 square foot shelter in downtown Los Angeles. This pro bono project involved complex negotiations with the City of Los Angeles Redevelopment Agency, the City of Los Angeles Planning Department and numerous neighborhood groups.