Linda A. Callon

Partner

Land Use & Municipal Law

linda.callon@berliner.com
408-286-5800

Ms. Callon represents private clients in the entitlement or regulatory process before governmental agencies for environmental and land use matters, and represents public agencies as special counsel on a variety of issues. She is the City Attorney for the City of Gilroy and Legal Counsel to the South County Regional Wastewater Authority.

Besides her practice in municipal law, Ms. Callon specializes in representing private clients, recently Hunter/Storm Properties, Federal Realty Investment Trust, FMC, McDonald’s Restaurants, and Union Pacific Railroad, before local governments for land use approvals, including environmental review and permit processing.

She has worked with county staff and appeared before Boards of Supervisors in Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, as well as represented clients for city approvals in Campbell, Cupertino, Foster City, Indian Wells, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Mountain View, Oxnard, Paramount, Redwood City, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Scotts Valley and Sunnyvale. She also served as Interim City Attorney for the City of Milpitas in 1997, and as Deputy General Counsel to the Santa Clara County Local Transportation Authority. She therefore stays abreast of state law in the areas of municipal law, subdivision processing, general plan, zoning, CEQA, Brown Act, solid waste management, Williamson Act, assessment district proceedings, redevelopment agencies, Political Reform Act requirements, and the like.

In litigation, Ms. Callon participated in the defense of the cities of Scotts Valley (general plan challenge), Santa Clara (development approvals and CEQA challenges), Gilroy and Morgan Hill (litigation relating to sewage treatment plant expansion), and County of Santa Clara (Highways 85 and 87 CEQA challenges). She also served as Deputy City Attorney for the City of Antioch, representing that City, the East Bay Regional Park District, and the Contra Costa Water District as special counsel regarding landfill siting and in litigation.

Education/Honors

• Santa Clara University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1980
• Mount St. Mary's College, B.A., Mathematics

Non-Legal Professional Experience

• City of Saratoga, Mayor, elected April 1980 - June 1983
• City of Saratoga, City Council member, 1978 - 1986
• City of Saratoga, Planning Commissioner, 1974 - 1978
• County of Santa Clara, Executive Assistant, Board of Supervisors
• IBM Corporation, Systems Engineer, Los Angeles, California

Professional Admissions

• State Bar of California

Presentations

• Seminar: "Legally Defensible Environmental Review under CEQA in California," 2005 - 2008
• Compliance Seminars for Public Officials and Employees: AB1234 Ethics Laws and Principles, 2006 and continuing
• Brown Act, Public Records Act, Conflict of Interest Statutes: Annual Updates
• Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Santa Clara University School of Law, Lecturer

Articles/Publications

League of California Cities, Contributing Editor, "The California Municipal Law Handbook," 1993

Political Experience

As a former mayor and council member, Ms. Callon worked in accommodating the interests of diverse groups while seeking to achieve specific goals. She has served on many intergovernmental boards, establishing a wide range of contacts with staff and local government officials. These boards included the County Transportation Commission, Intergovernmental Council and statewide, CalSecda, a JPA of California cities encouraging energy conservation.

Activities/Memberships

• State Bar of California, Chair, Northern California Zoning and Land Use Subsection, Real Property Section, 1993 - 1994
• The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, Northern California Division, President, Board of Trustees, 2001 - 2002
• Joint Venture/Silicon Valley, Co-Chair, Regulatory Climate Task Force, 1993 - 1994
• Santa Clara County Superior Court, Judge Pro Tem (Settlement Conferences)

Languages

• Japanese
• German

Personal

• Interests include adventure travel and reading legal thrillers

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.