Keith Garner

S. Keith Garner is a partner and Practice Group Leader of the Real Estate, Land Use, Natural Resources and Environmental Practice Group in the firm’s San Francisco office. Mr. Garner’s practice focuses on state and federal environmental laws, land use planning and entitlement procedures, and natural resources permitting issues for large residential, commercial and mixed use communities and energy generation and transmission projects, including wind and solar facilities.

He provides legal and strategic planning advice to clients at every stage of the complex development process, including due diligence for land acquisition, project planning and permitting, regulatory compliance, and land use litigation.

He handles a wide range of state and federal regulatory matters, including endangered species, wetlands, water quality and land use issues, initiatives and referendums, environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Williamson Act contracts, and State Lands issues.

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Mr. Garner worked as an urban planner in Boston, Massachusetts, and as a research fellow at the Harvard University Center for Urban Development Studies, where he participated in international development and research projects in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

Experience:

• Represented developer on wetlands, water quality, and endangered species permitting for 250 MW solar generation project in Imperial County.
• Represented owners/developer in three separate exchange and boundary line agreements with the State Lands Commission.
• Represented restaurant owner in enforcement proceedings and permitting before the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
• Successfully defended developer in federal court against citizen suit challenge to a Stanislaus County development project involving Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and NEPA claims. Protect Our Water v. Flowers, 377 F.Supp.2d 844 (E.D. Cal. 2004).
• Represented industry association in rulemaking proceedings before the State Water Resources Control Board concerning the adoption of state wetland definition and permitting procedures in 2016 and 2017.
• Represented industry associations in rulemaking proceedings before the California Fish and Game Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state and federal Endangered Species Act.

Education:

• J.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2001, Managing Editor, California Law Review, Executive Editor, Ecology Law Quarterly
• Master in Urban Planning, Harvard University, 1997, with distinction
• B.A., Stanford University, 1993, with honors

Admissions:

• California (Environmental Law Section)
• U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Memberships:

• Member, American Planning Association (Planning and Law Division)
• Member, Bay Planning Coalition
• Member, Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation
• Member, California Building Industry Association (Legal Affairs Committee)