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, Barristers Environmental, Land Use and Real Estate Section, Co-Chair, 2021-present; 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

  • Counseling a municipality on CEQA and planning and zoning law compliance and negotiation of development agreement of a large mixed-use development on 275 acres.
  • Representing a large municipality in defense of multiple litigations filed under CEQA, the Coastal Act, the Subdivision Map Act, and planning and zoning laws.
  • Representing a water bank authority in 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.
  • Representing a Muslim community group in connection with CEQA compliance and litigation arising out of application 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 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.
  • Conducted pre-acquisition land use due diligence for several developers and financial institutions for construction of infill housing and mixed-use projects in Southern California.

Renewable Energy

  • Advising 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.
  • Assisted a utility-scale solar PV generation facilities developer with permitting, environmental, and CEQA compliance in California.

Blogs

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Legal Alerts

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Publications

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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, Barristers Environmental, Land Use and Real Estate Section, Co-Chair, 2021-present; 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