Andrea Matarazzo is a founding partner of Pioneer Law Group, LLP, bringing to the firm over 30 years of professional experience in land use, real estate development, and environmental law. Andrea is an expert in the environmental regulations that affect the way our clients do business, particularly regarding environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She works closely with project proponents, public agencies, and environmental consultants to provide the strategic advice and reliable counsel necessary to steer a wide range of large, complex and sometimes controversial projects through the CEQA/NEPA review process.

From the outset of a matter, Andrea assists clients in outlining a compliance strategy best suited to the project and its surrounding circumstances. She positions her clients to:

• Avoid procedural errors and common mistakes;
• Maximize efficiency of the CEQA/NEPA review process;
• Identify practical solutions to business and policy problems caused by legal ambiguities; and
• Minimize the risk of lawsuits and increase the likelihood of prevailing if litigation is unavoidable.

In addition to commercial, residential, and industrial developments, Andrea’s environmental compliance experience includes a variety of project types:

• Water supply, wastewater, and flood control
• Traditional and alternative energy and transmission projects, including natural gas, solar, wind, and biofuel
• Civic and entertainment facilities, including sports arenas, park and recreation plans, and schools
• Solid waste projects and facilities, hazardous materials and waste management
• Land use and policy plans, including General Plans, Specific Plans, and PUDs
• Natural resources management and conservation plans, including Habitat Conservation Plans
• Federal Clean Water Act and wetlands permitting
• Endangered Species Act take negotiations and compliance
• Migratory bird and other protected species conservation planning

Andrea works with clients and their consultants to review draft impact reports and related documents to promote their legal defensibility, and assists them in the process of interagency consultation, in submitting and responding to comments on public review drafts, and in addressing issues thoroughly and efficiently.

Andrea also is an experienced litigator and has defended environmental documents, exemptions, and all manner of CEQA/NEPA compliance issues in numerous matters, including many of statewide significance. As one example, she represented the team owners of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings in defeating all CEQA challenges to the City of Sacramento’s downtown arena and entertainment complex. Two highly favorable published opinions resulted, including the Court of Appeal’s first decision concerning the constitutionality of project-specific CEQA streamlining statutes, setting a valuable precedent for other projects. Andrea also was lead counsel for the developer of the Sacramento Railyards in its successful defense against three separate CEQA lawsuits challenging the project entitlements (one of the largest urban infill projects in the country with over 2,000,000 square feet of office space entitlements and 12,000 residential units on 61 city blocks).

Andrea is a member of the California and Washington State Bar Associations and is an active member of the Sacramento community. She has taught land use planning law as an adjunct professor at the UC Davis Extension, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and served on the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the Sacramento affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. She holds a bachelor’s degree in land use planning and is a California Registered Landscape Architect.

PUBLISHED DECISIONS

AquAlliance v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(2018) 287 F.Supp.3d 969

AquAlliance v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(2018) 312 F.Supp.3d 878

Saltonstall v. City of Sacramento
(2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 549

Saltonstall v. City of Sacramento
(2014) 231 Cal.App.4th 837

North Coast Rivers Alliance v. Westlands Water District
(2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 832

Kern County Water Agency v. Watershed Enforcers
(2010) 185 Cal.App.4th 969

California American Water v. City of Seaside
(2010) 183 Cal.App.4th 471

Neighbors in Support of Appropriate Land Use v. County of Tuolumne
(2007) 157 Cal.App.4th 997

Eureka Citizens for Responsible Government v. City of Eureka
(2007) 147 Cal.App.4th 357

People ex rel. Department of Conservation v. El Dorado County
(2005) 36 Cal.4th 971

County of El Dorado v. Department of Transportation
(2005) 133 Cal.App.4th 1376

Border Power Plant Working Group v. Department of Energy
(2003) 260 F.Supp.2d 997

Riverwatch v. County of San Diego
(1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 1428

PRESENTATIONS AND COURSES

• UC Davis Extension:  Planning and Environmental Law (March and April 2018)
• Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA):  CEQA Litigation Update (September 2016)
• Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) Northern California Conference: CEQA Case Law Update (September 2016)
• Water Council, U.S. Conference of Mayors: Meeting the Water Supply Challenge and California’s “Show me the Water” Laws (October 2010)
• California Water Quality and Its Impact on Water Supply: Addressing Water Supply Issues Under CEQA (July 2010)
• 2009 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite: CEQA Update (October 2009)
• Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA): Overcoming Water Supply Uncertainty in Land-Use Planning (May 2009)
• Advanced CEQA Workshop: Critical Issues Update (June 2008)
• Wetlands Regulations: A Primer for Real Estate Attorneys (February 2007)
• Tools for Understanding CEQA (2005-2006)
• Legally Defensible Environmental Review Under CEQA (May 2004)
• California Land Use: Current Issues in Subdivision, Annexation, and Zoning Law (2001-2004 May 2004)
• Advanced Zoning and Land Use in California (April 2004)
• Administration and Enforcement of Wetlands and Endangered Species Regulations (March 2004)