Kyndra Joy Casper

Casper’s practice emphasizes land use and environmental matters, including property management, the obtaining of development entitlements, land use due diligence, administrative proceedings and litigation.

It is in the California Environmental Quality Act realm, however, that she often finds herself operating on behalf of clients. Some of the Los Angeles region’s major projects have gotten tangled up with the law.

“You might think CEQA would be black and white, but it has come to be used as a shield and a sword by opponents wishing to stall developments,” Casper said. Foreseeing that CEQA issues would arise in the massive, high-profile Crossroads of the World redevelopment on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, she went proactive on behalf of client Harridge Development Group.

“People are coming out to try to stall us,” Casper said. “There are concerns about traffic, greenhouse gas emissions — though we planned for a net zero effect — air quality and construction. We anticipated all of this and went to the state to have it designated an Environmental Leadership Development Project,” which allows for judicial streamlining and shortens the litigation window to nine months instead of a slog through the courts that could drag on for three to five years.

“We also made sure our environmental documents are really tight and we stepped up our community outreach. That is something I do, and as a lawyer it’s something that differentiates me from others in land use. I attend neighborhood council meetings, tenants’ groups, the whole gamut of project needs.”

Casper said she expects final approval soon for the 7-acre, 1.4 million-square-foot development. “We’re definitely on track and we’re near the finish line,” she said. “No lawsuits yet, but once approval is final anyone has 30 days to file. Given that it’s Hollywood, that’s always a maybe.”

“It is tricky,” she said of CEQA. “It’s quite the process. There are a lot of variables, a lot of pieces to the puzzle. And there’s never a dull moment.”

Another CEQA challenge arose when Casper represented Shapell Liberty Investment Properties in the Vineyards at Porter Ranch project, handling the entitlement and approval process, political and community outreach and complex changes to a plan that was approved in the 1990s. “We wanted to bring it up to a modern, vibrant walkable space standard,” she said. The outcome is to be an upscale open-air shopping and lifestyle center with a mix of retail, restaurant and entertainment features plus a multifamily residential project.

Casper prevailed on behalf of her client. “It’s getting built,” she said.

— John Roemer