CA Land Use: Legal, Political and Public Affairs Issues

Faculty:

Sonia Ransom is a land use partner in the Los Angeles office of Allen Matkins.  Sonia is highly regarded in the legal and development communities for her extensive experience in land use and redevelopment.  She has co-chaired the firm's renowned land use, environmental, and natural resources group.  Sonia was named one of Real Estate Southern California's “Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate” in 2006, 2005, 2004, and 2003.  She was also recently recognized by Commercial Real Estate Women - Los Angeles (CREW-LA) as a woman in real estate who has transformed the real estate landscape of Los Angeles.  Sonia's client list includes Aeroterm, Bank of Montreal, Chadmar Group, Concert Realty Partners, Empire Commercial Real Estate, Essex Property Trust, Extra Space Storage, Extended Stay America, IKEA Properties, ING Real Estate Investors, Kearny Real Estate, LaSalle Bank, Sares-Regis Group, Symantec, and Trammell Crow Residential.

Sonia's work in land use matters includes: developing entitlement strategies for commercial, industrial, and residential projects in numerous Southern and Northern California jurisdictions including general plan amendments, zone changes, conditional use permits, variances, subdivisions, planned development permits, and changes in jurisdiction; leading and coordinating development teams, including architects, engineers, environmental, financial, public relations, and community relations consultants; advising clients on and developing strategy for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act; advising clients on strategic and compliance issues related to Subdivision Map Act; and drafting and negotiating development agreements.  Sonia handles a wide variety of redevelopment and public finance matters for her clients, including drafting and negotiating disposition and development agreements, owner participation agreements, and exclusive negotiation agreements between developers (or other property owners) and redevelopment agencies; developing strategies for obtaining public financing for a variety of public/private partnerships; and military base redevelopment.  Sonia also advises purchasers, developers, investors, and lenders regarding existing entitlements on real property, identifying potential land use issues, and developing a strategy for obtaining entitlements if existing entitlements are insufficient.

Sonia's recent transactions include serving as land use counsel for Sares Regis Group in its recently approved Westgate Pasadena residential project, one of the largest (if not the largest) development projects in Pasadena's history (820 homes of which 110 are affordable to families of low and moderate income). She has worked with SAMS LLC, a venture of Kearny Real Estate; Morgan Stanley; Catellus, the developer chosen by the U.S. Air Force to modernize the Los Angeles Air Force Base; and The Chadmar Group in its efforts to develop 1,050 single family homes on former Fort Ord.  Sonia is known for her expeditious efforts.  For example, the complex entitlements for SAMS LLC, which included detachment of a 40-acre site from El Segundo and its annexation into Hawthorne, took approximately one year, and the entitlement of a 330,000 sq. ft. IKEA store in Covina took less than four months.

Sonia served as President of CREW-LA in 2001 and 2002, and has served on the organization's Board of Directors since 1996.  She is also a member of the California State Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and Women Lawyers of Los Angeles.  A sought-after speaker, Sonia has spoken at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, UCLA Multi-Family Housing Forecast, CREW-LA, California Continuing Education of the Bar Fundamentals of Real Property, California State Bar Real Property Section, Apartments 2005, and Bridgeport Continuing Education.  She has also written a number of articles on real estate and land use issues, including "9 Tips on Managing the Entitlement Process," published in the California Real Estate Journal.

John founded Davies Public Affairs more than 20 years ago and has directed one of the most successful strategic communication firms in California.  He has a keen insight into public opinion persuasion, based on a lifetime studying how human behavior and communication influences the decision-making process. John was the first to coin the term “Perceptioneering” and define its core methodologies.  John’s strategies and tactics have proven highly effective in both the political and commercial arenas, and especially in the land development arena. His media training expertise and superior crisis communication skills have been invaluable in helping his clients navigate the subtle nuances of public opinion. In addition, he possesses a valuable network of personal and professional relationships all across the State of California as well as nationally in the real estate, land development and energy industries. 

DAVIES is ranked the fourth largest independently-owned PR firm in Southern California, the tenth largest in California, and the 33rd largest PR firm nationally by PR Week.

John is a highly sought after public speaker and consistently receives high praise for his seminars and one-on-one media training sessions.  John’s long list of clients include the American Association of Political Consultants, National Home Builders Association, Cellular Telephone Industry Association, numerous major real estate development companies such as Del Webb, Sares Regis Group, KB Home, The Grupe Company, Dunmore Homes, and a host of Fortune 500 executives.  A graduate of State University of New York, John holds degrees in journalism and political science.