Matthew Visick
Partner
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
- SB 827 Dies in Committee as three Bay Area SB 35 Projects Get Underway, Reuben, Junius & Rose, Update April 18, 2018
- If Signed by the Governor, Senate Bill 35 Will Streamline Approvals for Multi-Family Residential Projects that Include Affordable Housing, Reuben, Junius & Rose, Update September 20, 2017
- CEQA Reform from the Court?, Northern California APA Law and Ethics Training, 2015
- There’s No Place Like Home, Adapting Affordable Strategies to Palmer and Sterling, Northern California APA Law and Ethics Training, 2014
- Legal Limbo: When CEQA and Initiatives Collide, Northern California APA Law and Ethics Training, 2013
- When CEQA and Initiatives Collide, Planners Need to Be Prepared, 2013, NorCal APA
- Dealing with Greenhouse Gas Emissions & CEQA: Practical Advice on Analysis and Mitigation, 2009
- Conference Organizer, Surviving Climate Change: Adaptation and Innovation, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 2008
- State Enacts Landmark ‘Anti-Sprawl’ Legislation: SB 375 Ties Regional Transportation Planning and Funding to Climate Change Goals, McDonough Public Law Bulletin, 2008
- Locally-enacted Green Building Codes and Energy Efficiency Standards, Public Law Research Institute Working Papers, 2008
- If Not Now, When? The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: California’s Final Steps Toward Comprehensive Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Regulation, 13 Hastings West Northwest J. of Envtl. L. & Pol’y 249 (2007)
LAND USE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Mr. Visick focuses his practice on land use and environmental law, assisting property owners and developers with all stages of the land use and entitlement process. He has broad experience in matters related to planning and zoning law, the Coastal Act, water rights, the Subdivision Map Act, climate change regulations, takings, code enforcement, and rent control. He has particular expertise in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and works closely with project proponents, public agencies, and environmental consultants on the preparation and defense of CEQA documents such as negative declarations and environmental impact reports. Mr. Visick is a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP).
Before joining Reuben, Junius & Rose, Mr. Visick served as general and special counsel to public agencies in the Bay Area, advising agency staff and decision-making bodies on land use and municipal law issues. In that capacity, he helped bring to a successful resolution controversial environmental and land use matters, and provided strategic advice on legislation and regulatory initiatives. He is an experienced litigator in both trial and appellate courts, successfully resolving litigation involving CEQA, takings, redevelopment, water rights, civil rights, Proposition 218, and rent control, with several cases garnering published decisions.
EDUCATION
- B.F.A. 2000, California College of Art (wood/furniture), with honors
- J.D. 2008, Hastings College of the Law, cum laude; Editor-in-Chief West Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy; Recipient, Albert G. Evans Scholarship in Private Enterprise
EXTERNSHIPS
- Judicial Extern, Hon. Martin J. Jenkins, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- Judicial Extern, California Public Utilities Commission, Administrative Law Judges
- Legislative Extern, Assembly Member Jared Huffman
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
- Save North Petaluma River and Wetlands v. City of Petaluma (2022) 86 Cal.App.5th 207
- Weatherford v. City of San Rafael et al. (2017) 2 Cal.5th 1241
- Building Industry Assn. v. Bay Area Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. (2015) 62 Cal.4th 369
- City of Emeryville et al. v. Cohen (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 293
- Reynolds v. City of Calistoga (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 865
- Haro v. City of Solana Beach (2011) 195 Cal.App.4th 542
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- Member, State Bar of California
- Member, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research
- Member, Urban Land Institute
- LEED, Accredited Professional
