Nicki Carlsen is the co-leader of the firm’s Environmental and Land Development practice group. Her practice focuses on land use, environmental compliance and litigation. She has over 20 years of experience with the federal, state and local regulations affecting development projects, including land use planning and subdivision laws, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act and endangered species acts.

Through her representation of residential, commercial and litigation developers, Nicki can navigate a course of action from project inception to completion. Her land use experience extends to all project entitlements. This includes general plan amendments, specific plans, development agreements, zone changes, subdivisions, conditional use permits, variances, and grading, building and encroachment permits, as well as specialized environmental permits, such as Section 404 permits and “take” permits.

Nicki advises clients on how to comply with CEQA and NEPA statutes and oversees the adequacy of CEQA and NEPA documents. She has successfully defended project approvals in the trial and appellate courts and has also successfully prosecuted actions on behalf of property owners to obtain land use entitlements.