Robert Horton assists clients on a variety of land use and environmental matters, including CEQA compliance; Incidental Take Permits and Section 7 Consultation under the Endangered Species Act; Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification, Section 404 Dredge and Fill Permits, and NPDES Permits; California Department of Fish and Game Streambed Alteration Agreements; Green Building legislation; local zoning variances; and Clean Air Act litigation.
Mr. Horton not only assists clients in regulatory compliance and securing federal, state and local land use entitlements, he also has experience litigating a broad array of issues before California and Federal courts, both at the trial court and appellate court levels.
Representative Work
National Association of Home Builders. Representing client in Clean Air Act citizen suit challenging the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District's Indirect Source Rule; drafted model legislative language for state and local voluntary green building laws.
Centex Homes. Assisting client with various land use entitlement issues for projects in Santa Barbara County and the Inland Empire. Representation includes crafting strategies for streamlined CEQA review, advising client on compliance with the Western Riverside Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, and negotiation and drafting operating memoranda of understanding regarding development agreements.
Mission Pacific Land Company. Negotiated with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Game, and local resource conservation district and drafted biological conservation easement to preserve on-site mitigation area in perpetuity.
First Industrial Realty Trust. Assisting client with entitlements due diligence and processing, environmental permitting and green building regulations for its extensive holdings in the Inland Empire.
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Drafted comments on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed rule designating critical habitat for the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep.
CEQA Litigation. Representation of landowners in litigation challenging mitigated negative declarations, variances and conditional use permits for infrastructure projects.
City of Ventura. Representation of client before the California Water Quality Control Board – Los Angeles Region in NPDES permit renewal and Petition for Review before the California State Water Resources Control Board.
Professional Affiliations
Orange County Bar Association, Real Estate Section
Building Industry Association, Orange County, Government Affairs Committee Member (2007 to present)
California Bar Association, Environmental Law Section
Awards & Honors
UCLA School of Law Moot Court National Team
Finalist, Roscoe Pound Moot Court Appellate Oral Advocacy Competition
UCLA Environmental Negotiations Team
Moot Court Honors Committee MemberPresentations
Speaker, "Coachella Valley MSHCP and Other Land Use Regulations Affecting Development in the Desert," Nossaman Land Use/Environmental Seminar, December 3, 2008.Publications
Co-Author, "Awash in controversy: The developing saga of the EPA Water Transfers Rule," ABA
Trends Magazine, September/October 2008.
Education
J.D., University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 2004
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1996
M.A., University of Wisconsin, 1991
highest honors
B.A., University of Miami, 1986
magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Outstanding Senior in Philosophy
Admitted
California
U.S. District Court, Northern, Central and Eastern Districts of California
U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit