R. Gerard Lutz

Assemblage, Defense and Redevelopment of Family Retail Property

Represent family to assemble family's retail property with neighboring properties for redevelopment, defend assemblage in city street improvement condemnation (including litigation and successful negotiation of smaller take, related environmental remediation of leased property) and subsequent lease of assemblage to national retailer for redevelopment.

Acquisition of Properties for High School

Represent Everett School District in assemblage of properties for Jackson High School.

Disposition of Surplus Property Portfolio

Negotiation and sale of Puget Energy's corporate subsidiary portfolio of surplus industrial, office, commercial, hotel and other properties (including among others the One Bellevue Center, Bellevue Galleria, Bellevue Towers, Sam's Club Renton and Renton Landing sites, and the Salish Lodge).

Good Chevrolet Renton Relocation

Represent Good Chevrolet Inc. in relocation of car dealership to facilitate City of Renton redevelopment project, including property sale to residential/transit/recreational private/public partnership and concurrent assemblage of approximately 70 properties from multiple sellers for relocated dealership.

Liberty Park LLC Redevelopment

Defend owner Liberty Park LLC's interests in condemnation and redevelopment of partially built and partially permitted office development and transfer of development rights from condemned property authorizing new adjacent office building to be enlarged by 50%.

Tenant Lease Representation

Headquarters and other leasing for corporate clients such as Outerwall Inc., Esterline Corporation, Puget Sound Energy and En Masse Entertainment.

Lynnwood Recreational Restriction Transfer

Represent Edmonds School District in connection with transfer of federal land use restriction from Old Lynnwood High School site to New Lynnwood High School, together with negotiation of revised Interlocal Agreements between the School District and the City of Lynnwood.

Sammamish View Office Park Entitlements

Represent Kyle Development Company in SEPA and permitting process and successfully defend administrative appeals of entitlements for office development project.

Siting Agreement for The Boeing Company

Assist The Boeing Company in negotiation of 787 Dreamliner Siting Agreement with State of Washington.

Snoqualmie Preservation Project

Represent land developer in structuring, negotiation, and sale of property and development rights to conservation organization in complex multiparty transaction involving public/private partnerships, open-space preservation, development-rights trades, property sales and swaps.

Best Buy Bellevue Store

Represent Best Buy in opposition to City of Bellevue route for extension of NE 4th Street.

Sound Transit Tunnel Project

Represented a number of potential condemnees in connection with negotiation of tunnel easement rights and compensation.

Great Western Malting

Represented Great Western Malting as condemnee/lessee in a partial condemnation of GWM's leasehold interest by its landlord, the Port of Vancouver (Washington) for new rail service to Port's property.

Puyallup School District: New High School Site

Represented School District as condemnor in acquisition of large, preliminarily platted site; resolved by mediated settlement.

Everett School District New High School

Represented School District as condemnor in acquisition of 3 rural parcels; the first two were tried together to jury verdict, the third settled.

Electric Transmission Projects

Represent Puget Sound Energy in federal, state and local permitting and utility corridor acquisition for the following electric projects, among others: the Lakeside to Center Transmission Line (new 230kV line in downtown Bellevue). Jefferson County Transmission Line (new 230kV transmission line involving Hood Canal submarine cable crossing), East Sammamish Transmission Project (new 230kV point of delivery to Sammamish Plateau).

FERC Hydroelectric Licensing and Related Proceedings

Represent applicants, power purchasers and others in FERC hydroelectric licensing and related proceedings such as Clean Water Act certification, Coastal Zone Management Act consistency certification, NMFS and USFWS section 10(j) and Endangered Species Act consultations, collaborative settlement negotiations and project surrender/redevelopment negotiations (e.g., Wells, Rock Island, Rocky Reach, Priest, Wanapum, Baker, White River, Snoqualmie, Nooksack, Thunder Creek, Elwha and Glines, Black Creek, Stone Creek).

Generation Project Sales and Acquisitions

Represent purchasers, sellers and lessees of electric generating properties including, among others, Centralia (coal), Encogen (co-generation), Stone Creek (hydropower), Frederickson (gas), Wild Horse (wind), geothermal and natural gas storage.

Baker River Project, FERC No. 2150

Represented licensee in compliance licensing and Endangered Species Act litigation, including Washington Trout v FERC (9th Cir. 2003)(Baker River Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 2150); counsel for licensee in ESA consultations, citizens' suit before FERC and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and FERC license amendment proceeding (pending); also represented license applicant in development of protocols for collaborative alternative licensing process.

Black Creek Project, FERC No 6221

Represented licensee in dispute regarding local permitting for Coastal Zone Management Consistency Determination process.

Electron Project

Represented project owner of FERC-license exempt hydroelectric project in Endangered Species and Clean Water Act processes related to salmon protection.

Glines and Elwha Projects, FERC No. 2082

Represented project owner in litigation regarding development of National Environmental Policy Act environmental baseline for hydroelectric project licensing and relicensing of existing project.

Mid-Columbia Projects (Wells, Rock Island, Rocky Reach, Wanapum and Priest Rapids)

Represent power purchasers in projects related to anadromous fish, project capital budgeting and licensing proceedings, and in proceedings before FERC regarding emergency spill suspension during 2000 West Coast power crisis.

Nooksack Falls Project, FERC No. 3721

Represented project owner and license applicant in FERC licensing and related federal, state and local proceedings to expand production at license-exempt project; represent owner in sale of project and transfer of project-related assets following fire to a buyer for project rehabilitation.

PUD No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Department of Ecology

Co-counsel for Industry Amici before Washington and United States Supreme Courts. (Clean Water Act Section 401 litigation)

Stone Creek Project, FERC No. 5264

Represented license transferee in Federal and State license transfer proceedings for small hydroelectric project.

Thunder Creek Project, FERC No. 3913

Represented applicant in National Environmental Policy Act, Section 4(e) and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act processes for small hydroelectric project.

White River Project, FERC No. 2494

Represented licensee for more than 10 years in all aspects of contentious hydroelectric licensing process, including Section 10(j) and 4(e) proceedings related to minimum instream flows and ramping rates anadromous fish; Clean Water Act Section 401 litigation (certification requirement found waived); Coastal Zone Management Act consistency litigation (consistency determination requirement waived); Endangered Species Act compliance counseling; license rehearing request; and development of multi-party collaborative process to develop a non-hydroelectric project alternative to licensing that maintains the project reservoir, Lake Tapps.