News
Linda J. Lezotte Selected as City of Saratoga Hearing Officer
August 27, 2007
Linda J. LeZotte, Berliner Cohen Of Counsel, has been selected as the Hearing Officer for the City of Saratoga. The Hearing Officer presides over hearings and appeals regarding violations of the Saratoga City Code. Ms. LeZotte joined the Land Use and Municipal Law practice of Berliner Cohen in January, 2007, after serving six years as a San Jose Planning Commissioner and eight years on the San Jose City Council. Ms. LeZotte has practiced law in the Bay Area for over 25 years.
Ms. LeZotte also has been appointed to the Envision 2040 San Jose General Plan Update Task Force. The Task Force will update the City’s General Plan during public meetings expected to last through 2009. The General Plan is the City’s statement of policy for the physical development of the community. It represents the City’s assessment of the amount, type, and phasing of development needed to achieve the City’s social, economic, and environmental goals.
Following her service to the City of San Jose, Ms. LeZotte was recognized by Mayor Chuck Reed for her leadership and expertise in resource conservation, environmental, and land use matters effecting San Jose and Silicon Valley.
Ms. LeZotte has returned to the Board of Directors of RAFT after an eight year absence, having served on the Advisory Board during that time. RAFT is a non-profit organization that believes hands-on teaching is the best way for teachers to teach and students to learn. The organization provides creative hands-on activities, educational resources, workshops and inexpensive materials (many donated by local businesses), to enrich pre K-12 education and community group programs. Its goal is to assist teachers, non-profits and community groups, by providing materials and ideas for day-to-day teaching and for supporting professional growth. Ms. LeZotte first became associated with RAFT over 10 years ago and has provided pro-bono legal assistance to RAFT because of her belief in the vision and goals of RAFT for the benefit of teachers and children in our community.
She is a member of the Board of the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters. Ms. LeZotte spearheaded San Jose’s environmental policies such as green building, environmentally friendly procurement, energy and water policies, and support for groundbreaking environmental laws which recognize the effects of climate change.
Emphasis on the environment is the hallmark of Berliner Cohen’s land use and environmental law practitioners. The group’s attorneys have over three decades of experience in land use and regulatory approvals before local governments, and public policy experience in the whole system approach to green building; solid waste and wastewater regulation and disposal; alternative transportation technology and climate change policy. Berliner Cohen is one of the largest law firms in San Jose serving the business and regulatory needs of private business and public agencies. For 40 years, the Firm has developed the special expertise required by a diverse client base consisting of some of Silicon Valley’s largest corporations, new ventures, leading real estate developers, cutting edge software manufacturers, healthcare providers, mortgage banking companies, municipalities and public agencies. Berliner Cohen also meets the growing demands of the San Joaquin Valley with its expanding office in Merced.