Gordon E Hart

Practice Areas

Gordon Hart is an environmental and land use lawyer whose practice focuses on assisting clients develop complex projects on properties with environmental challenges, and on defending those approvals against litigation challenging them.

Helping Navigate Environmental Regulatory Requirements:

While serving on the staff of the California State Legislature in several senior capacities and as a legislative advocate for many years, Gordon led the drafting and negotiation of numerous laws that are still on the books governing the regulation of solid and hazardous waste, toxic materials, contaminated property cleanups, and other environmental matters. Subsequently, Gordon has built on this experience to assist clients in understanding their obligations under these complex regulatory schemes and to secure agency approvals.

Helping Develop Complex Projects on Contaminated Property:

Gordon specializes in helping clients develop contaminated property at large sites such as closed military bases, former shipyards, closed landfills, former power plants, and closed manufacturing and aerospace facilities. This work involves not only helping obtain the necessary local, state, and federal land use and regulatory approvals and permits, but also drafting and negotiating the numerous transactional documents necessary to allocate responsibility and risk, including environmental insurance.

Defending Against Litigation Challenging Project Approvals:

Gordon has led successful defenses against numerous litigation challenges under CEQA, the Planning and Zoning and Law, NEPA and the Endangered Species Act. In addition to cases involving contaminated property, he has secured victories in several important cases involving utility-scale solar projects.

Professional Memberships

Member, Lambda Alpha International Land Economics Honor Society

Member, California Lawyers Association, Environmental Law Section

Member, SPUR (San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Research Association)