Bryan C. LeRoy

Bryan C. LeRoy is a partner in our Real Estate practice group and is based in our Los Angeles office. Bryan represents private and public entities in zoning, land use, environmental compliance, energy and infrastructure and other property development matters. Clients seek his counsel on property rights, entitlement strategy and the processing of land use permits, securing zoning approvals and managing environmental concerns and other project impacts, particularly with regard to requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). He regularly represents clients before city and county governments, the state of California and multiple federal agencies.

Bryan previously served as city attorney for a number of cities in southern California, and general counsel to the Orange County Council of Governments, a joint powers agency made up of 29 cities and eight special agencies.

My focusPre-development planning And Entitlements

I help clients evaluate the risks of real estate opportunities prior to property acquisition, which oftentimes involves securing additional approvals from local, state and federal agencies and the negotiation of development agreements to protect the project’s entitlements. This work is vital to a broader due diligence for property acquisition and includes assessing not just the ability of the new owner to continue using the property and existing buildings, but also evaluates potential for future growth and development opportunities.

I help property owners assess their development rights under local zoning and other regulations and then chart a path to navigate the red tape and secure complex land use approvals, such as zoning and general plan amendments, density bonus, conditional use permits, and development plan reviews. I work with multi-family housing developers to meet affordable housing requirements; with museums, universities, biotech and cultural institutions to construct institutional campus facilities; with industrial developers to provide space for manufacturing, warehousing and logistics; and with wineries, hotels and other hospitality providers to deliver visitor-serving amenities.

Environmental review for development and energy projects

A focus of my practice is the application of CEQA and NEPA and the strategy of environmental compliance. I manage the preparation and agency approval of environmental assessments, environmental impact statements and reports and negative declarations. I often advise on the environmental review for large, complex projects at the state and federal levels, where I assist in controlling litigation by ensuring that these documents properly evaluate potential environmental impacts, assess the adequacy and enforceability of mitigation measures and effectively respond to public and agency comments.

Energy projects

I advise clients in regard to the development and the permitting of regional energy projects involving approvals by local, state and federal agencies, from solar to mineral production. I help navigate the complex permitting process and layers of regulations as well as the administrative appeal procedures for these projects.

Looking ahead

“NIMBYs” and single-minded environmental activists continue to use complicated local, state and federal regulations to their advantage, with increasing success. Environmental regulatory reform has been stalled for years. Meanwhile, a simple procedural error by a governmental agency may send a development project back to the drawing board, losing considerable time and money. There may be no such thing as a “bullet-proof” project approval, but if you don’t understand the regulations and the cases interpreting those regulations, you are taking a risk.