Tina Wallis
Tina Wallis advises clients on land use, environmental, and groundwater matters including General Plan and zoning issues, compliance with California’s Environmental Quality (CEQA), land use entitlements, and conservation easements. Ms. Wallis does transactional work and litigation. She pairs a comprehensive understanding of the issues with a straight-forward approach to resolve critical environmental, natural resource, project development, and sustainability issues.
In addition to this, she assists with due diligence for acquisitions or sales where the property is entitled, but the project has not been built yet.
Ms. Wallis began her legal career advising counties, cities, and special districts on land use, public works, general government, airport, and landfill matters. During this time, she built a reputation as a fair and respectful problem solver, and is thus highly regarded with those whom she negotiates with on her clients’ behalf.
Ms. Wallis has guided private and public sector clients through environmental review, securing permits for building and operations such as:
- All aspects of CEQA compliance from application submittal through litigation
- Conservation Easements
- Wineries
- Tasting Rooms
- Luxury Resorts
- Residential Subdivisions
- Commercial Subdivisions
- Railroads
- Quarries
- Asphalt Plants
- Retreat Centers
- Religious Retreat Centers
- Retail Centers
- Small Shopping Centers
- Alternative Energy Systems
- Composting Operations
- General Plan Updates
- Zoning Ordinance Updates
- Resolving alleged violations of environmental laws
Education
- Bachelor of Science, University of California, Davis, 1993
- Juris Doctor, Vermont Law School, 1997
Affiliations and Awards
- Treasurer/Director, Sonoma County Bar Association, 2002-2013
- Professor, Empire College of Law: Environmental Law and Legal Writing and Research, 2003-Present
- Member, Santa Rosa Junior College Paralegal Studies Advisory Board, 2010-present
- Member, Scribes Legal Writing Society
- Member, Clarity Legal Writing Society
- Judge Pro Tem, Sonoma County Small Claims Court, 2002-2006
- Presenter: Water Supply Requirements for Land Use Projects 2011
- Presenter: Land Use and CEQA Update, December 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016
- Presenter: CEQA 101, 2016
- Presenter: The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, 2015
