38th Annual Land Use Law & Planning Conference

Alisha Winterswyk is a partner in the Environmental and Natural Resources practice group at Best Best & Krieger LLP.  She is a CEQA and land use lawyer that advises public and private clients on an array of environmental, planning and municipal laws.

Alisha’s practice is both transactional and litigation-based as she takes a “soup-to-nuts” approach to representing clients and in the development process. Over the past several years, Alisha has contributed to the UCLA Land Use Law and Planning Conference as a speaker and she is delighted to now serve as a co-chair for this fantastic event.

David Smith is a partner with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and splits his time between the firm’s Orange County and San Francisco offices. Mr. Smith counsels land developers, conservation companies, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and individuals at the intersection of law and government on land use entitlement, real estate development and regulatory compliance. He is frequently engaged in entitlement and permitting matters for development projects that are, or have the potential to be, particularly contentious and complicated.

Mr. Smith’s expertise includes all facets of land use and related regulatory compliance including the California Environmental Quality Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, climate change, the McAteer-Petris Act and California’s planning and zoning laws. In addition to his practice, Mr. Smith frequently speaks at law schools and conferences throughout the state.

Matthew Burris is the Deputy City Manager over Community and Economic Development for the City of Rancho Cucamonga. He has over 17 years of experience working with local government working for a variety of private sector firms as well as for local governments as an employee. Matt also served as a Planning Commissioner for California’s newest City of Jurupa Valley. In addition to his work in community development, Matt has regularly taught planning courses for both UC Berkeley and UC Riverside.

He is a Certified Planner, a LEED Accredited Professional, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara, as well as a Master of Science in City and Regional Planning and a Master of Science in Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Both Matt in his professional capacity, and many of the projects he has been instrumental in, have won state and national awards.