Douglas E. Wance is a Shareholder and former chair of Buchalter’s Land Use Practice Group. Mr. Wance has built a cross-disciplinary practice involving land use and entitlements, water resources, environmental compliance, natural resources and public law through the representation of both public agencies and private businesses throughout California. He has handled all aspects of these substantive areas, from advising clients regarding the applicability of the law, to guiding clients through a permitting or entitlement process, or defending clients subject to enforcement actions. Mr. Wance successfully represented businesses and public agencies in sophisticated financial, real estate, water resource, environmental compliance, and land development matters in court and before administrative agencies.
Mr. Wance’s land use and entitlement background includes representation of residential developers, public entities, major industrial facilities, and other commercial businesses in all phases of project development before local and state agencies, city councils, and county board of supervisors. He has assisted clients in obtaining development and environmental permits and project approvals for power plants, schools, mixed use, and industrial development projects.
Mr. Wance has provided advice and counsel to clients on many transactional and litigation matters concerning land development and regulation, from due diligence, land acquisition, eminent domain and financing to securing entitlements, leasing, CC&Rs, compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and state and federal regulatory permitting (wetlands, species, coastal issues). He regularly deals with local general plans and other land use ordinances and resolutions, subdivision requirements, clean water, water rights, resources and quality issues, land and construction financing, environmental due diligence (including hazardous waste and materials), air quality, Polanco Redevelopment act, annexation and change of sphere of influence, development agreements, and infrastructure fees. In the past, he has dealt specifically with school siting issues within Los Angeles and Orange County concerning many aspects of the siting of schools as well as the Escutia-Wildman process (SB162/AB387), and represented a public agency in the land use, environmental compliance, and eminent domain issues for several multi-million dollar public projects within Los Angeles County. Finally, he has participated in administrative proceedings and litigation in the successful defense of permits and CEQA approvals in trial and appellate courts.