Brett Jolley represents and advises clients on land use, zoning, and environmental matters. He assists developers, property owners, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations with issues involving the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Subdivision Map Act, State Planning and Zoning Law, the Mitigation Fee Act, the State Elections Code, and other land use statutes and ordinances such as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. Mr. Jolley regularly appears before city councils, county boards of supervisors, planning commissions, and LAFCOs, and litigates related matters in trial courts and courts of appeal.
Growing up in the historic Sierra foothills of Amador County, Mr. Jolley became interested in the connection between property rights, land use issues, and the environment at an early age. Mr. Jolley received a B.A. in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned Dean’s Honors and raced for the UCSB Alpine Ski Team. He received his law degree from the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento where he was awarded the Honors at Entrance Scholarship. Between college and law school Mr. Jolley worked for Stockton Senator Patrick Johnston in the State Capitol – which bolstered his interest in public policy, the legislative process, and issues affecting the Central Valley, Bay/Delta, and Sierras. During law school, Mr. Jolley interned with two State regulatory agencies: The cabinet-level California Resources Agency and the Office of the Chief Counsel at the California Integrated Waste Management Board.
Mr. Jolley joined Herum Crabtree, an AV rated law firm, in August 2000 and promptly focused his practice toward land use and governmental matters. He has since made countless appearances before administrative land use bodies and courts of law, tackling issues on behalf of clients such as conflicts between wireless communications towers and adjacent land uses; defending an agricultural rendering plant operator against a home developer’s “anti-SLAPP” litigation; obtaining development entitlements for uses such as auto dealerships, a private bass fishing club, large mixed use development projects, agricultural processing facilities, and numerous residential development projects during the housing boom of the past decade; and successfully defending development projects from school district challenges over fee-based mitigation.
Mr. Jolley also has experience in land use issues involving recreational, mining, and governmental uses. Mr. Jolley has represented motocross champion Jeremy McGrath in defeating injunctions to prohibit recreational off-highway vehicle use on private property in Riverside County. Mr. Jolley acted as lead appellate counsel for a mining company defending environmental challenges to surface mine expansion permits. Mr. Jolley also represented a San Diego County landowner in proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission successfully compelling the redesign of San Diego Gas & Electric’s Sunrise Powerlink Project to avoid the client’s property. Mr. Jolley has represented the Building Industry Association of the Delta in planning commission and city council proceedings on the Stockton 2035 General Plan Update and also as an intervening party to defend Sierra Club litigation challenging that Plan.
In the commercial sector, Mr. Jolley has represented a Colorado corporation in public bidding, lease negotiations, and securing governmental approvals to operate a parolee rehabilitation center at the San Joaquin County Jail under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a shopping center owner in negotiating and settling eminent domain proceedings with a city in Sacramento County, and national developer the A.G. Spanos Co. regarding environmental compliance and development entitlements for various large-scale mixed use and residential projects in Stockton. Mr. Jolley recently represented a Central Valley developer in obtaining land use entitlements for development of a Fresno shopping center anchored by Orchard Supply Hardware and CVS Pharmacy. In the City of Tracy, Mr. Jolley represented a high-tech business in negotiating and resolving municipal code compliance issues for its manufacturing facility. Mr. Jolley also has extensive experience with issues affecting large-scale commercial and “big box” developments serving as lead or assistant counsel to project opponent groups in several successful lawsuits and appeals challenging big-box and “Supercenter” approvals (resulting in three reported appellate court decisions on the subject). More recently Mr. Jolley represented community groups in Chico and Milpitas in successfully securing administrative denials of similar big box projects.
Mr. Jolley also represents public agencies in land use matters. For example, Mr. Jolley has advised a Central Valley irrigation district on CEQA compliance relating to right of way condemnation and developing energy projects. Mr. Jolley also recently represented The Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, the City of Stockton, and San Joaquin County in Federal Court CEQA litigation challenging of the decision of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to approve a 1700-bed prison facility near Stockton and also assisted in drafting an amicus brief filed with the United States Supreme Court in September 2010 on behalf of the Stockton Chamber in the matter of Plata v. Schwarzenegger.
In 2009 and again in 2010 San Francisco Magazine’s Super Lawyers publication named Mr. Jolley a “Rising Star” in the area of land use – distinguishing him as one of the top attorneys under 40 years of age in northern California.
In his free time, Mr. Jolley enjoys downhill skiing, motocross, golf, tackling a never-ending list of home improvement projects, and spending time with his family.
Presentations/Publications:
- Delta Breeze, A Monthly Building Industry Resource, “Going Green Can be a Sound Legal Investment” (June 2008)
- Humphreys’ College School of Law, Property III Class, Guest Panelist (Stockton California 2007 [mock board of supervisors land use hearings])
- Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Stockton Program, “Local Government Day”, Speaker (Stockton, California 2005, 2006, and 2007 [mock city council meeting])
- California Building Industry Association, Select Conference on Industry Litigation, “School Fees”, Speaker (Napa, California 2005)
- Lorman Education Services, “Real Estate Development from Beginning to End in California”, Speaker (Stockton, California 2004)
- City of Stockton “Youth in Government” conference. Program Facilitator (Stockton, California 2002 [mock city council land use hearing])
- Resources Agency of California, California Water Law and Policy, Co-author (1999),CERES website (http://ceres.ca.gov)
- Resources Agency of California, TheInteractive CEQA Process Flow chart Co-author (1988), CERES website (http://ceres.ca.gov/topic/envlaw/ceqa/flowchart/index.html
Reported Decisions:
- Tracy First v. City of Tracy (2009) 177 Cal. App. 4th 912
- San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Ctr. V. Co. of Merced (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 625.
- American Canyon Comm. United for Resp. Growth v. City of American Canyon (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 1062.
- Anderson First Coalition v. City of Anderson (2005) 130 Cal.App.4th 1173.
- Bakersfield Citizens for Local Control v. City of Bakersfield (2004) 124 Cal.App.4th 1184