Hina Gupta

Counsel

Hina Gupta draws from her environmental planning background to help clients navigate through regulatory, land use entitlements, and environmental issues.

Public and private sector clients turn to Hina for advice and counsel on a wide variety of land use and environmental matters, including compliance with local planning and zoning laws, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the California Coastal Act, local municipal and election laws, and brownfield redevelopment. Her experience includes assisting clients with land use entitlements and CEQA compliance for large and small-scale residential projects, office buildings/business parks, self-storage facilities, industrial warehouses, medical and higher education facilities, and redevelopment projects. She assists clients with renewable energy siting and permitting issues as well.

Clients also rely on Hina for her litigation experience handling writs of mandamus matters for CEQA and land use issues.

Before her career as an attorney, Hina worked as an environmental planning consultant preparing CEQA and NEPA compliance documents on a variety of projects, including large infrastructure and transit projects.

Professional, Community And Pro Bono Involvement

  • Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Fellows Program, 2022
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, Environmental Law Section, Executive Committee, 2024
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, Barristers Environmental, Land Use and Real Estate Section, Co-Chair, 2021-2023; Land Use Vice Chair, 2020
  • Women in Environment
  • Association of Women in Water, Energy & Environment
  • American Bar Association
  • California Lawyers Association, Environmental Law Section
  • Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Editorial Board Member, 2020-present

Honors & Rankings

  • Best Lawyers in America©, Ones to Watch, Land Use and Zoning Law, 2024
  • Super Lawyers, Northern California Rising Star, Land Use/Zoning, 2021-2023
  • Externship, Honorable Jay C. Gandhi, United States District Court, Central District of California, 2012
  • The George Washington University Law School, Journal of Energy and Environmental Law, Managing Editor
  • University of Southern California, Sol Price School of Public Policy, Dean’s Merit Scholar, 2005-2007

Land Use and CEQA

  • Represented a municipality on CEQA and planning and zoning law compliance, negotiation of development agreement, and associated litigation in the trial court and the appellate court for a large mixed-use development on 275 acres.
  • Representing a large municipality in defense of multiple litigations at the trial court and the appellate court filed under CEQA, the Coastal Act, the Subdivision Map Act, the local municipal code, and planning and zoning laws.
  • Representing Norway-based aquaculture corporation for CEQA and the Coastal Act compliance in connection with the redevelopment of a contaminated pulp mill site in Northern California to construct large state-of-the-art on-shore aquaculture facility.
  • Representing the University of California in connection with various land-use projects and litigation, including development of the Long Range Development Plan for the University of California, Santa Cruz, and litigation challenging that plan under CEQA and the Education Code.
  • Advised park district on land-use aspects of transfer and reuse of 2,600 acres of the former naval base for CEQA compliance.
  • Representing a water bank authority in the preparation of an EIR and a CEQA lawsuit challenging a groundwater bank project.
  • Represented self-storage corporations in connection with obtaining site approvals for developments in Escondido, Paramount, and Chino Hills.
  • Represented a Muslim community group in connection with CEQA, planning and zoning law, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act to construct a religious and community center in San Martin, California.
  • Represented the developer of a mixed-use project for land use entitlements and environmental compliance consisting of 98,000 square feet of retail development, 280,000 square feet of office, and 608 attached residential units on 24 acres.
  • Represented a developer on the proposed redevelopment of an aging shopping center into a mixed-use project, including retail, office, and hotel uses.
  • Advised a large developer on compliance and entitlement strategies under CEQA and planning and zoning laws for a master plan development on over 2,600 acres in Southern California.
  • Represented a community college district in planning approvals and CEQA compliance for construction of a satellite center in the City of San Diego.
  • Counseled private clients regarding pre-acquisition land use due diligence, land use and environmental entitlements, CEQA compliance, and state planning and zoning laws for infill and mixed-use projects, residential, commercial, industrial and self-storage projects, hospitals, and educational institutions.

Renewable Energy

  • Advised a large municipal utility district on regulatory strategies under CEQA and the State Aeronautics Act for development of utility-scale wind power plant in California and helped negotiate settlement of CEQA, Government Code, and Public Utility Code claims.
  • Assisted a utility-scale solar PV generation facilities developer with permitting, environmental, and CEQA compliance in California.
  • Advising a county regarding the community benefit agreements related to a renewable energy project.

Announcements

7 related items

Speaking Engagements / Events

4 related items
  • November 16, 2022
    BPC Expert Briefing: CEQA Update 2022
    Bay Planning Coalition
  • September 18, 2023
    A CEQA Attorney, Consultant, and City Planner Walk Into a Café
    American Planning Association’s California 2023 Conference: Planning at the Crossroads
  • December 29, 2023
    Key Developments in Environmental Law & Land Use 2023
    CEB Webinar Recording
  • October 12, 2022
    Cultivating Allies & Change Agents
    Panelist, Driving Diversity in Law & Leadership - Centerforce Diversity in Law Series

Blogs

15 related items

Legal Alerts

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Publications

34 related items

Hina takes great pride in helping those in her community. Before relocating to the Bay Area, she represented a non-profit organization in obtaining land use entitlements for a low-income veteran housing project in Southern California, and assisted on land use entitlement strategy for a dance academy that would serve low-income children in the Los Angeles area.

When not practicing law, Hina enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and finding new food places to try.

Professional, Community And Pro Bono Involvement

  • Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Fellows Program, 2022
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, Environmental Law Section, Executive Committee, 2024
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, Barristers Environmental, Land Use and Real Estate Section, Co-Chair, 2021-2023; Land Use Vice Chair, 2020
  • Women in Environment
  • Association of Women in Water, Energy & Environment
  • American Bar Association
  • California Lawyers Association, Environmental Law Section
  • Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Editorial Board Member, 2020-present

Honors & Rankings

  • Best Lawyers in America©, Ones to Watch, Land Use and Zoning Law, 2024
  • Super Lawyers, Northern California Rising Star, Land Use/Zoning, 2021-2023
  • Externship, Honorable Jay C. Gandhi, United States District Court, Central District of California, 2012
  • The George Washington University Law School, Journal of Energy and Environmental Law, Managing Editor
  • University of Southern California, Sol Price School of Public Policy, Dean’s Merit Scholar, 2005-2007