- Assisted with due diligence and securing necessary entitlements, sign permits, and street improvement permits for a 245,000 square foot commercial shopping center in the coastal zone in the City of Long Beach.
- Assisted with due diligence and entitlement document preparation for a 645,095 gross square-foot mixed-use development with 390 multifamily units in the coastal zone in the City of Long Beach.
- Represented developers in obtaining entitlements for over 677,000 square feet of self-storage space throughout Los Angeles County.
- Secured approval for a conditional use permit to relocate a private DK-8th school to an existing 97,165 square foot building in Playa Vista, CA and increase enrollment to 600 students.
- Represented a developer in securing a commercial corner conditional use permit for the construction and development of a 45,000 square foot commercial building in West Los Angeles.
- Negotiated with council district staff and the neighborhood council to obtain height and setback adjustments as well as deferral of street dedication and widening.
- Secured approval of a tentative tract map for a 2.45-acre parcel in the hillside area of the City of Los Angeles.
- Collaborated with public counsel on preparing an early childcare facilities toolkit to support childcare facility development in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
- Secured approval of a lot line adjustment and termination of a covenant and agreement to untie two parcels and facilitate the transfer of ownership. Obtained building electrical permits that were required so that the two existing buildings could operate independently. Negotiated with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to relocate electrical equipment to a more cost-effective location.
- Representing a mining company to secure an encroachment permit from Caltrans to install big horn sheep warning signs on State Highway 18.
- Secured development plan approval to replace an aging baghouse at an 41,150 square foot industrial building in the City of Santa Fe Springs. Negotiated with senior staff to eliminate requirement to screen baghouse including a 70-foot-high stack.
Planning Director,
- Phone: +1 213 576 1056
- Email: kathleen.hill@alston.com
Working closely with attorneys and clients on a range of land use planning entitlements, building permits, wireless telecommunication facilities, CEQA compliance and related entitlement matters, Kathleen has more than 30 years of experience in planning, real estate development and project management.
- Secured approval for a conditional use permit to expand a private elementary/middle school in Playa Vista. Obtained the support of the neighborhood council and city councilmember to add a 24,000 square foot building to the campus for an early childhood center for 69 preschool-aged children and new gymnasium for K-8 grade students.
- Represented a developer in a joint public/private project to construct a 90-unit affordable and market-rate housing complex and juvenile impact project facility to be operated by the City of Los Angeles Police Department on a portion of a high school in South Los Angeles. Secured approval for a conditional use permit, a variance to reduce parking, and a height increase.
- Represented the owners of a health retreat in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County east of Malibu to secure a new conditional use permit to continue operating for 30 years. Negotiated with the Los Angeles County Fire Department to waive the requirement to widen access road leading to the retreat.
- Secured approval from the City of Newport Beach for a lot line adjustment for quasi-public agency.
- Negotiated with the Los Angeles County Fire Department to waive the requirement to widen an access road.
- Collaborated with public counsel on preparing an early childcare facilities toolkit to support childcare facility development in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
- Prepared applications and secured approval to vacate a public street and expedited the approval process as part of a redevelopment project for a movie studio in Hollywood and for the redevelopment of an oil production field.
- Negotiated with Los Angeles County and the City of Santa Clarita to obtain water franchise agreements for a local water service provider.
- Advised and represented a retail center developer in establishing new parking rates for a public parking garage in the Hollywood Community Redevelopment Area.
- Advising and representing tower companies in securing permits for wireless telecommunications infrastructure. Prepared applications and negotiated approvals for entitlement time extensions for over 50 wireless telecommunications facilities with expired permits in jurisdictions throughout California.
Kathleen Hill is a planning director who works closely with attorneys and clients on a range of land use planning matters, including development project pre-acquisition due diligence, securing project entitlements and building permits, and compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Since 2011, Kathleen has been a co-author of the firm’s Land Use Matters publication. She is also on the firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee.
Kathleen has more than 30 years of experience in planning, real estate development, and project management. Her public sector land use experience includes working as an associate planner for the City of Riverside and City of Perris. Kathleen has also worked as a planning consultant on residential and commercial projects, subdivision maps, zoning code amendments, specific plans, and general plan updates. She previously worked as a site development manager in the wireless telecommunications industry, where she acquired real estate suitable for development with wireless infrastructure, prepared and processed entitlement applications, and negotiated approvals with public agencies throughout California. She was responsible for managing a team of real estate, construction, and property management professionals.
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Land Use Matters Publication May 2025Land Use Matters | May 2025 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. In this issue, permits for wildfire rebuilding can be expedited, the At-Berth Regulation lives on, and perfunctory at best isn’t good enough.Land Use Matters Publication May 2025Land Use Matters | May 2025 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. In this issue, permits for wildfire rebuilding can be expedited, the At-Berth Regulation lives on, and perfunctory at best isn’t good enough.
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Land Use Matters Publication February 2025Land Use Matters | February 2025 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. In this issue, Gov. Newsom suspends CEQA for Los Angeles fire recovery, approval isn’t final if it’s appealed, and zero is not the same as low.Land Use Matters Publication February 2025Land Use Matters | February 2025 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. In this issue, Gov. Newsom suspends CEQA for Los Angeles fire recovery, approval isn’t final if it’s appealed, and zero is not the same as low.
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Land Use Matters Publication August 2024Land Use Matters August 2024 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, Los Angeles City Planning raises a pair of fees, college dorms can get loud, and SB 10 survives a constitutional challenge.Land Use Matters Publication August 2024Land Use Matters August 2024 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, Los Angeles City Planning raises a pair of fees, college dorms can get loud, and SB 10 survives a constitutional challenge.
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General Publications April 19, 2024“The California Environmental Quality Act: Appellate Decisions,” Real Estate Finance Journal, April 19, 2024.This article reviews key appellate decisions involving the California Environmental Quality Act.General Publications April 19, 2024“The California Environmental Quality Act: Appellate Decisions,” Real Estate Finance Journal, April 19, 2024.This article reviews key appellate decisions involving the California Environmental Quality Act.
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Land Use Matters Publication March 2024Land Use Matters March 2024 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, Los Angeles City Planning drafts another Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, San Diego County made a peculiar choice to overrule its staff, and contracts from the Sixties will live on to the (20)Eighties.Land Use Matters Publication March 2024Land Use Matters March 2024 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, Los Angeles City Planning drafts another Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, San Diego County made a peculiar choice to overrule its staff, and contracts from the Sixties will live on to the (20)Eighties.
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Land Use Matters Publication December 2023Land Use Matters December 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, Los Angeles adopts a Processes and Procedures Ordinance, agencies have significance discretion, and a coastal water district goes back to the well.Land Use Matters Publication December 2023Land Use Matters December 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, Los Angeles adopts a Processes and Procedures Ordinance, agencies have significance discretion, and a coastal water district goes back to the well.
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Land Use Matters Publication September 2023Land Use Matters September 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, San Diego faces PIER pressure, a hotel can’t replace affordable housing, and a court didn’t do its job.
Land Use Matters Publication September 2023Land Use Matters September 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, San Diego faces PIER pressure, a hotel can’t replace affordable housing, and a court didn’t do its job.
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Land Use Matters Publication July 2023Land Use Matters July 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters.Land Use Matters Publication July 2023Land Use Matters July 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters.
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Land Use Matters Publication March 2023Land Use Matters March 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, we highlight the end of tolling deadlines from the COVID-19 pandemic, increased filing fees, and (a statue of) Marilyn Monroe.Land Use Matters Publication March 2023Land Use Matters March 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, we highlight the end of tolling deadlines from the COVID-19 pandemic, increased filing fees, and (a statue of) Marilyn Monroe.
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Land Use Matters Publication January 2023Land Use Matters January 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, we highlight processes, procedures, and parking in Los Angeles; the nuances of the Housing Accountability Act; and n CEQA challenge involving the architectural history of the California State Capitol Building.Land Use Matters Publication January 2023Land Use Matters January 2023 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal DevelopmentsLand Use Matters provides information and insights into new CEQA and other land use appellate decisions and legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters. This issue, we highlight processes, procedures, and parking in Los Angeles; the nuances of the Housing Accountability Act; and n CEQA challenge involving the architectural history of the California State Capitol Building.
Education
- University of Southern California (B.S., 1986)
Memberships
- City of Long Beach Unified School District Asset Management Committee (7-11) (2019)
- City of Long Beach Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee, District 5 representative (2018)
- Junior League of Orange County California, former president
- St. Francis Center of Los Angeles Development Committee