Overview

Christian advises residential, commercial, and light industrial developers, public agencies, and utilities regarding land use entitlements and environmental strategies. His practice focuses on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Housing Crisis Act (SB 330), the Density Bonus Law, the Housing Accountability Act, the Subdivision Map Act, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, and the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act. Christian has processed entitlements through numerous local and state agencies. He has also litigated land use, property, and environmental actions before trial and appellate courts, as well as the California Supreme Court.

Before joining the firm, Christian clerked with the Environmental and Natural Resources Sections of the California Attorney General's Office and the California Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials.

Experience

Advised developer of 150,000 sq ft mixed-use project in San Mateo, California on density bonus and CEQA strategy.

Advised developer of residential project in Sunnyvale, California on density bonus strategy.

Advised developer of logistics industrial center in Solano County, California on entitlement strategy including resource permits, Subdivision Map Act compliance, and reciprocal easement agreements.

Advised developer on entitlement strategy to covert and existing office development into a 190-unit residential project in San Mateo, California on entitlement strategy, including its density bonus application and rezoning.

Advised developer of 130-unit residential project in Redwood City, California on entitlement strategy, including a development agreement and new zoning district.

Advised developer of 130-unit residential project in Vacaville, California on entitlement strategy including an annexation, agreement, vesting tentative subdivision map, and CEQA compliance.

Advised developer of 700-unit residential project in Vacaville on entitlement strategy including an annexation, specific plan, development agreement, vesting tentative subdivision map, and CEQA compliance.

Advised client on entitlement strategy for mid-rise office building in Redwood City.

Advised developer regarding its CEQA strategy for a 500-unit residential project in Livermore.

Advised a group of commercial property owners regarding the protection of development rights against changes to an airport land use compatibility plan.

Advised developer of master planned community in Sacramento County on wetlands permitting.

Insights

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Awards & Affiliations

Honors & Recognitions

Best Lawyers, in Land Use & Zoning Law, 2023-2025

Northern California Rising Star, 2015-2016

Professional Affiliations

California Lawyers Association, Environmental Legislation Committee

Bay Area Council, Housing Committee

Bar & Court Admissions

  • State Bar of California

Education

J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, 2006, cum laude

B.S., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1997, with honors

Jump to Page

Cox, Castle & Nicholson Cookie Preference Center

Your Privacy

When you visit our website, we use cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. For more information about how we use Cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Always Active

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. These cookies may only be disabled by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Functional Cookies

Always Active

Some functions of the site require remembering user choices, for example your cookie preference, or keyword search highlighting. These do not store any personal information.

Form Submissions

Always Active

When submitting your data, for example on a contact form or event registration, a cookie might be used to monitor the state of your submission across pages.

Performance Cookies

Performance cookies help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage. We access and process information from these cookies at an aggregate level.

Powered by Firmseek