Lori A. Wider

Lori Wider is special counsel in the Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental Practice Group in the firm's San Francisco office.

Areas of Practice

Ms. Wider represents clients in all aspects of land planning and the real estate development process, including administrative permitting, legislative approvals, subdivisions, development agreements, and CEQA compliance. Ms. Wider has advised clients in connection with the land use entitlement process for complex institutional, commercial, residential and mixed-use projects, including the Stonebrae master planned residential community and golf course on Walpert Ridge in Hayward, the new M.H.de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, a 500-acre mixed use development in Alameda County for the San Francisco PUC, Macy's renovation on Union Square, and a new medical office building as part of Kaiser Permanente's San Francisco campus. In the past several years, Ms. Wider also has represented private clients in connection with public-private partnerships with the Port of San Francisco to revitalize the City's waterfront, including the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of Pier One, and the proposed Bryant Street Pier Project, with the planned new James R. Herman International Cruise Terminal and The Watermark, a residential tower on the adjacent seawall lot. 

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Ms. Wider was with the law firms of Browning, Wholey & Levin, Baker & McKenzie, and the law offices of Timothy A. Tosta. Ms. Wider clerked for the Presiding Judge of the San Francisco Superior Court immediately following law school.

Education

• J.D., Golden Gate University, 1981
• B.A., Wayne State University, 1975

Admissions

• California
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
• U.S. Tax Court

Ms. Wider has assisted clients, as land use and CEQA counsel, on the following projects in California, among others:

• Stonebrae Country Club Project, a master planned residential community with 18 hole championship golf course and new public elementary school on a previously undeveloped 1,500 acre site on Walpert Ridge in the City of Hayward, with dedication of over 1,000 acres of open space.
• James R. Herman International Cruise Ship Terminal Mixed Use Project, approved for development at Piers 30-32 on the San Francisco waterfront, including a new cruise ship terminal, retail/entertainment space, commercial office development and open space.
• The Watermark, a high-rise residential condominium project located at Seawall Lot 330 on The Embarcadero in San Francisco.
• The new M.H. de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
• Langtry Farms' Golf Course, an 18-hole championship golf course and clubhouse near Middletown in Lake County.
• Eden Shores East, a residential single- and multi-family community located in the South of Route 92 Specific Plan area in the City of Hayward.
• Rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of Pier One for office space for the Port of San Francisco and other tenants, the first project to implement the Port's 1997 Waterfront Land Use Plan.
• 260,000 square foot Medical Office Building constructed for Kaiser Permanente as part of an overall expansion of Kaiser Permanente's Geary Boulevard campus in San Francisco.
• Expansion of the Macy's Union Square store in San Francisco.

Honors

• Northern California Super Lawyer, San Francisco Magazine

Memberships

• Member, Real Property and Environmental Law Sections, State Bar of California
• Bar Association of San Francisco
• Member, SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Research Association)
• Member, Urban Land Institute
• Member, California Homebuilders' Association
• Member, National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Member, Northern California HBA/DRE Committee
• Member, Association of Environmental Professionals

Articles

• Land Use and California Environmental Quality Act Update, July 27, 2004
• Land Use and Government Approvals section of Doing Business in California, 2nd ed., published by Baker & McKenzie's California offices.

Posted on Sheppard Mullin's Real Estate and Construction Law Blog:

• "Transfer of Park & Recreation District Land To Third Party Was Not A Project Requiring Prior CEQA Review Where The Lack Of Any Development Plan Made Environmental Review Premature," February 20, 2007; Summary of California Court of Appeal January, 2007 decision in Friends Of The Sierra Railroad v.Tuolumne Park and Recreation District
• "Court Sets Aside Approval Of Demolition Permit On Basis That Findings Of Infeasibility Concerning EIR Project Alternatives Not Supported By Substantial Evidence," February 14, 2007; Summary of California Court of Appeal January, 2007 decision in Uphold Our Heritage v. Town of Woodside
• "No Cause Of Action Under CEQA To Challenge County CEQA Determination Where Determination Superseded By Coastal Commission De Novo Review On Appeal," February 12, 2007; Summary of California Court of Appeal January, 2007 decision in McAllister v. County of Monterey
• "District Approval Of Agreement For Purchase And Sale Of Water Expressly Conditioned On Future CEQA Compliance Does Not Require Prior CEQA Review," February 3, 2007; Summary of California Court of Appeal January, 2007 decision in Concerned McCloud Citizens v. McCloud Community Services District et al.

Speeches

• Managing an Entitlement Process Involving Multiple Agencies and Jurisdictions; Conversion of Industrial Land for Other Uses -- Protection vs. Conversion, Sheppard Mullin's panel on the Special Challenges of Urban Infill Development, Palace Hotel, September, 2005.