Steven L. Vettel,

Of Counsel

In the face of well-organized opposition, we assisted Seven Hill Properties resist a CEQA appeal to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and obtain entitlements for a mixed-use project in San Francisco's Mission District.

We represented San Francisco Overlook Development in obtaining entitlements for its Crestmont Drive residential development in the Forest Knolls neighborhood of San Francisco located in Supervisorial District 7, and then assisted the team settle a lawsuit brought against the project by the adjacent homeowners association.

Representing SKS Investments in converting an historic but obsolete industrial and showroom building to a state-of-the art technology office building in San Francisco’s South of Market district. 

After obtaining land use entitlements, including general plan amendments, rezoning and conditional use approvals for the 55 Laguna mixed-use development project located at the former University of California Berkeley Extension Campus in San Francisco, we prevailed in the Superior Court and Court of Appeal (unpublished decision) defending client AF Evans Development, Inc. in a CEQA lawsuit challenging the City of San Francisco's approvals for the project (Save the Laguna Street Campus v. City and County of San Francisco, et al.). 55 Laguna provides multifamily apartments, affordable senior units, public spaces, and retail space. The project includes a combination of new construction, the adaptive reuse of three historically significant buildings and the demolition of two others, which was the focus of the litigation.

Represented SFMOMA in obtaining land use approvals for a major expansion of its facilities in the Yerba Buena district of San Francisco, including new galleries to display the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection.  The project included the relocation of a City fire station off-site, acquisition of City property, air rights and right-of-way, and the replacement of two historic resources with the museum addition and new fire station.

We have represented TNDC on numerous affordable housing projects in San Francisco, including the Rosa Parks II senior project in the Western Addition, the Kelly Cullen Community and the Eddy and Taylor Family Housing in the Tenderloin neighborhood.  We are currently assisting TNDC in obtaining entitlements for the 909 Howard Street project in the South of Market neighborhood.

Represented Live Nation in defeating a last-minute appeal of the entertainment permit authorizing Live Nation to present a summer concert series in conjunction with the America’s Cup sailing races in a temporary 9,000-seat pavilion at San Francisco’s Piers 27/29.

Counsel to a partnership of Hines, Goldman Sachs and Urban Pacific to entitle a 750-foot tall mixed use tower (office, hotel and residential) that will be the fourth tallest in San Francisco immediately adjacent to the under construction Transbay Terminal and a 550-foot residential tower nearby. 

Counsel to Pacific Eagle, a Singapore based investor/developer, in obtaining land use entitlements for two hotel projects in San Francisco. 555 Howard is a 385-foot mixed hotel/residential tower in the Transbay District that will be the first commercial building in San Francisco designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. 

Obtained entitlements for the subdivision of a large site near Lake Merced in southwestern San Francisco into 121 lots for the construction of 182 single-family homes and duplexes.  After defeating an administrative appeal of the project's mitigated negative declaration, we successfully defended the project approvals in the Superior Court and California Court of Appeal, and successfully defended a separate Superior Court challenge to the City's issuance of a tree removal permit.

Land use and real estate counsel to Group I in obtaining land use entitlements, including enactment of a special zoning exemption, for construction of a mixed use hotel/residential/retail project in San Francisco Mid-Market/Tenderloin neighborhood and negotiating a hotel services agreement.

In 2016, we obtained land use entitlements for a controversial residential project in San Francisco’s Mission District at 2000 Bryant Street, dubbed the “Beast on Bryant” by project opponents, including obtaining a unanimous vote at the Board of Supervisors to reject an appeal of the project’s CEQA exemption and large project authorization. We worked extensively with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development to fashion a land dedication alternative to satisfy the project’s inclusionary housing obligation and enable MOHCD to build a 100% affordable development on a portion of the project site.

Provided land use advice for a residential project in San Francisco.

We are land use counsel to Sunnydale Development Company, a joint venture of Mercy Housing California and Related California for the Sunnydale HOPE-SF public housing replacement project that will redevelop a dilapidated public housing site into a 1700-unit mixed income development, including replacement 1 for 1 of the public housing units. We assisted in preparation of the EIR/EIS, creation of a special use district, and the negotiation of a Development Agreement between the San Francisco Housing Authority, the City and Sunnydale Development Company.