Overview
Nedda Mahrou is a senior associate in Mayer Brown’s Los Angeles office and a member of the firm’s Land Use practice. She represents commercial and residential developers, businesses, and other entities in transactional land use matters and related litigation, including complex environmental litigation. Nedda advises clients on planning and zoning law, securing entitlements, municipal affairs, and environmental compliance, including compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Throughout her nearly decade of legal experience, Nedda has handled matters touching all facets of California land use law, including CEQA, the Subdivision Map Act, and State Housing Law.
Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Nedda completed a post-bar fellowship at the San Diego City Attorney’s office. She went on to become a land use and litigation attorney at a reputable Orange County firm focusing on California real estate matters, where she represented the nation’s largest real estate development companies with several master-planned community projects in Southern California. In this role, Nedda was able to hone her land use and planning knowledge and also gained significant hands-on experience in all aspects of the litigation process, from drafting pleadings and arguing dispositive motions to preparing for trial, and engaging in appellate practice. As a member of the Editorial Board of the California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Nedda also authored numerous published articles on pivotal land use and environmental issues.
Nedda is actively involved in Mayer Brown’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives. She co-chairs the Los Angeles office’s Associate and Counsel Committee, and is actively engaged in the Women’s Initiative.
Spoken Languages
- English
- Farsi
Experience
Representative Entitlement Projects
- Representing AvalonBay Communities with its land use entitlements in Southern California, including with a 1,500-unit mixed-use project that involves processing land use entitlements pursuant to a land transfer under the Surplus Land Act.
- Representing The Post Group with all their land use entitlements in Southern California, including the 1000 Seward and 1250 Vine commercial mixed-use projects with a combined approximate floor area of 400,000 square feet.
- Representing Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City in the construction of a new 16 story, 400-key hotel building within walking distance of Universal Studios Hollywood.
- Facilitating* conveyance of 200 acres of sensitive habitat to local conservation district as compensatory mitigation for development project impacts. Transaction included preparation of conservation easement and coordination with several regulatory agencies, including the Army Corp of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Regional Water Quality Control Board.
- Obtaining* land use entitlements for a mixed-use project on a 1,100-acre site in the County of Riverside. The approvals included discretionary permits for a 286-key winery resort, a tract map to subdivide the property into clustered residential lots and larger estate lots, and certification of CEQA documents.
- Prevailed* in an appeal involving interpretation of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act as it relates to local agency formation commission’s authority to recover attorney fees under an indemnity agreement contained in developer’s application to annex real property within the sphere of influence of the City of Pismo Beach. San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission v. City of Pismo Beach (2021) 61 Cal.App.5th 595.
*Representation was assisted by Nedda prior to her employment at Mayer Brown.
Perspectives
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March 2019
Attainable Housing and The Missing Middle – The Struggle to Achieve the American Dream of Homeownership is Real
California Land Use & Policy Reporter
Events
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March 2019
Navigating Changes in California Land use Law, Policy and Planning for 2019 and Beyond
California Land Use Policy Conference -
March 2018
Housing 2018: Will the Legislature’s Housing Package Have a Meaningful Impact?
California Land Use & Policy Conference
News
Education
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, JD
University of California, San Diego, BA, cum laude
Admissions
- California