Andrew L. Faber

Partner

Business Litigation; Land Use & Municipal Law

andrew.faber@berliner.com
408-286-5800

Mr. Faber has over thirty-five years of experience in representing private and public clients in a wide range of land use, environmental, and public law matters, and in real estate, environmental, and eminent domain litigation.  In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Mr. Faber was recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer by Law & Politics in Government/Cities/Municipalities.

Mr. Faber represents a number of public agencies, including as Acting City Attorney of the City of Gilroy and Acting General Counsel of the South County Regional Wastewater Authority, along with special representation of agencies regarding development issues and in the trial of CEQA cases.

Education/Honors

• Stanford University Law School, J.D., Articles Editor, Stanford Law Review, vol. 26, Author of Published Note, 1974
• Harvard University, A.M., Applied Physics, 1968
• Swarthmore College, B.A., Physics, with High Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, 1967

Representative Cases

• Contra Costa Water District v. Vaquero Farms, Inc.
  Contra Costa County Superior Court. Lead trial counsel for Water District in eminent domain action to acquire 3,400 acres of land for Los Vaqueros Reservoir Project; District's valuation of the property was $8 million, landowner's was $57 million; after three-month-long jury trial, verdict was $14.4 million, which was less than the District's final offer to the landowner
• People (CalTrans) v. Liberty Service Corp., Santa Clara County Superior Court
  Trial Counsel for landowner in eminent domain action on the valuation of 60 acres of property for the widening of Route 237; landowner's valuation of the property was $12 million; State's was less than $4 million; result after three-week jury trial: $10.15 million verdict plus attorneys' fees, costs, and interest
• Santa Clara County Local Transportation Authority v. Guardino
  11 Cal.4th 220 (Cal. Supreme Court 1995). As General Counsel for SCCLTA, participated in precedent-setting Supreme Court case on the scope of public entities' powers to levy general and special taxes in light of Propositions 13 and 62
• Sesi v. Signal Landmark, et al
  U. S. District Court for S. D. Cal. (San Diego). Successfully extricated the City of Coronado from complex CERCLA and RCRA actions arising out of contaminated soils from a former city dump site

Legal Experience

• CEQA/NEPA Matters
  Represents public and private clients in developing strategy and reviewing EIR/EIS's for CEQA/NEPA compliance to avoid litigation; also trial and appellate counsel in numerous CEQA and NEPA lawsuits for both public and private clients, including, e.g., BFI v. City Council of San Jose, 181 Cal. App. 3d 852 (6th Dist. 1986); Sierra Club v. Gilroy, 222 Cal. App. 3d 30 (6th Dist. 1990)
• Private Land-Use Work
  Represents private developers and landowners in applications for general plan amendments, rezonings, subdivision maps and use permits, including processing applications and making public appearances in San Jose, and many other local cities, including Santa Clara, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Foster City, Fremont, Newark
• Public Agency Counseling
  Represents a number of public agencies, including as Acting City Attorney of the City of Gilroy and Acting General Counsel of the South County Regional Wastewater Authority, and formerly as general counsel of the Santa Clara County Local Transportation Authority, and Acting City Attorney of Milpitas

Non-Legal Professional Experience

• Oceanographer, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., 1968 - 71

Professional Admissions

• State Bar of California, 1974 - present
• California Supreme Court
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit
• United States District Court, Northern, Central, Southern Districts of California

Presentations

• “Prop. 98: Property Owner Protection or Hidden Agendas Scheme?” League of California Cities, City Attorneys Conference, La Jolla, 2008
• "Reducing the Traffic that Causes the Potholes: California's New ‘Regional’ Congestion Management Scheme," American Bar Association Annual Convention, Toronto
• "New Initiative Cases Pose More Questions for City Attorneys," League of California Cities, City Attorneys Conference, Lake Tahoe
• "Legally Defensible Environmental Review Under CEQA in California," Lorman Education Services, 2004 - 2008
• "Civil Procedure Before Trial," Continuing Education of the Bar
• "Surviving Cross-Examination, Appraisal Institute Seminar," South Bay Workshop

Articles/Publications

• California Real Estate Law (Matthew-Bender), "Exactions," chapter 64
• California Real Estate Forms and Practice (Matthew-Bender), "Zoning, Building, and Environmental Entitlements and Permits," chapter 30B
• Silicon Valley Business Ink, "Seen Any Red-Legged Frogs Lately?," Dec. 15, 2000

Activities/Memberships

• American Bar Association
• Santa Clara County Bar Association
• Santa Clara County Superior Court, Arbitrator; Judge Pro Tem (Settlement, Law and Motion, and Trial)
• Santa Clara County Bar Association Law Foundation, Past Director, Past Treasurer
• "AV" Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

Personal

• Born in New York City, October 25, 1945
• Resident of Monte Sereno (Santa Clara County)
• Married with two children
• Interests include computer programming, sports, and amateur radio

The materials on this website are not intended to and do not constitute legal advice or a solicitation for the formation of an attorney-client relationship and no attorney-client relationship is created through your use of this site or your receipt of these materials.