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Andrew Skanchy helps clients get projects done. Although the permitting process can be confusing and daunting, Andrew has extensive experience navigating clients through the morass and helping them achieve their objectives.

He provides strategic guidance on entitlement considerations and getting a project through the CEQA and NEPA processes, with a primary goal of avoiding litigation. But, should litigation ensue, Andrew is adept at defending project approvals in both federal and state court, having successfully defended public agencies and private developers when their projects are challenged. (Read more...)

On May 29, 2025, in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado (2025) 605 U.S. ____, the Supreme Court gave instruction that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) “is a procedural cross-check, not a substantive roadblock,” and that NEPA’s goal “is to inform agency decisionmaking, not to paralyze it.”

Specifically, the Court overturned the

In Cleveland National Forest Foundation v. County of San Diego (2025) 109 Cal. App.5th 1257, the Fourth District Court of Appeal invalidated two thresholds of significance adopted by the County of San Diego (“County”) that in certain circumstances would have avoided the need for a project proponent to perform an analysis of vehicle miles travelled.

In the wake of the tragic disaster still unfolding in multiple communities of Southern California, Governor Newsom has issued an executive order (Executive Order N-4-25) intended to “expedite recovery” from the disaster by “eliminating barriers that unduly delay the rapid rebuilding of homes and other facilities destroyed or damages by the extreme windstorm conditions and

In People ex rel. Bonta v. County of Lake (2024) 105 Cal.App.5th 1222, the First District Court of Appeal held that the Final EIR (“FEIR”) and associated errata for a proposed mixed-use development project, located in a rural part of Lake County, failed to adequately assess the increased risk of human-caused wildfires the project created.

In Yolo Land and Water Defense v. the County of Yolo (2024 105 Cal.App.5th 710, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the County’s EIR for a sand and gravel mine, known as the Teichert Shifler Mining and Reclamation Project. Downey Brand attorneys Andrew Skanchy and Sam Bacal-Graves successfully represented the County in this litigation

In Meinhardt v. City of Sunnyvale (2024) 16 Cal.5th 643 (“Meinhardt”), the California Supreme Court resolved a split in authorities over a procedural matter that will give CEQA litigants some certainty about when an appeal must be filed.

When a party loses their case in a California superior court they are entitled to

Introduction

On March 29, 2024, the First District Court of Appeal issued its partially published opinion in the case of Vichy Springs Resort, Inc. v. City of Ukiah (2024) 101 Cal.App.5th 46. In the published portion of the case, the Court held that the completion of a project to reconstruct a gun range (“Project”)

In a highly-anticipated case revolving around development impact fees, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, 144 S.Ct. 893 (2024) that legislatively-imposed conditions on building permits are not exempt from scrutiny. Although the decision can certainly be characterized as a victory for those facing sometimes exorbitant impact fees

In Move Eden Housing v. City of Livermore (2024) 100 Cal.App.5th 263, the First District Court of Appeal overturned the trial court and held that the City of Livermore (City) City Clerk was required to process a referendum challenging the decision by the City to enter into a development agreement (Project) with Eden Housing, Inc.