Mr. Massey, a principal attorney with the firm, practices in the municipal and public agency area providing transactional and general legal counsel and advice on a wide variety of legal matters impacting municipalities, counties, special districts, school districts and other public entities. His experience is broad and diverse, including land use, real estate, and fee and assessment related issues.

Legal Experience

In practice since 2002, Mr. Massey has considerable experience representing public agencies across a broad spectrum of legal issues. In March 2011 Mr. Massey was appointed Assistant City Attorney for the City of Rio Vista. His experience also includes serving as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Livingston from June 2009 to September 2010, City Attorney for the City of Nevada City from June 2008 to December 2009 and interim City Attorney for the City of Susanville for most of 2007. Mr. Massey's areas of expertise include:

General legal advice and counsel:

• Open meeting laws, including the Brown Act
• Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
• Public contracts
• Conflicts of interest
• Public Records Act
• Election law
• Government liability
• Proposition 218 and Proposition 26:  fees, rates and assessments
• Land use, zoning and planning
• California redevelopment law
• Real estate transactions
• Housing laws
• Mobile home laws

Negotiating, drafting and reviewing:

• Property purchase and sale agreements
• Easements
• Developer impact mitigation agreements
• Joint-use agreements
• Architect agreements
• Lease agreements
• Construction bid documents

Pre-litigation and litigation support:

• Drafting motions and pleadings
• Corresponding with opposing counsel

Practice Examples

• Mr. Massey prepared the documentation for the new California Indian Heritage Center on behalf of the West Sacramento Redevelopment Agency in cooperation with the State of California.
• Mr. Massey assisted the City of West Sacramento and the City of Susanville in providing legal advice related to mobile home park issues.
• Mr. Massey has represented cities and redevelopment agencies in the negotiation and drafting of loan documents and regulatory agreements related to affordable housing developments.
• Mr. Massey has provided litigation and pre-litigation support to numerous clients. In one instance, he reviewed the modernization project for a school district client and advised them of their potential liability with the project. In another matter, he defended a cause of action on behalf of a special district involving a dispute with a developer over the district's fire inspection fees.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Mr. Massey participates in a variety of speaking engagements. His topics generally focus on conflicts of interest, open meeting laws and LAFCo issues. His professional activities and affiliations include:

• Article Editor, California Real Property Journal
• Member, California Special Districts Association, Legislative Committee
• Member, Sacramento County Bar Association, Real Estate Law Section
• Member, California State Bar Association

Publications

• Author, “Ballot Measures: From Express Advocacy to Informing the Public,” California Special District Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 5, Sept-Oct 2012
• Author, "A Short Introduction to Green Finance," Urban Land Institute: Land Link, Fall 2010
• Author, "Environmental Effects of the Forest Project Protocol Version 3.0 in Question," Pacific Municipal Consultant's Carbon Conscious Newsletter, Issue 5, Jan-Feb 2010
• Author, "Different Attitudes, Divergent Results: Potential Regional Variations in implementation of SB 375," Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter, Sept 2009
• Author, "SB 375 and Special Districts: Transit Districts May Benefit," California Special District Magazine," Vol. 4, Issue 5, Sept-Oct 2009
• Author, "LAFCo Initiated Dissolutions Rare," California Special District Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 4, Jul-Aug 2008
• Author, "Providing Services Outside Special District Jurisdictional Boundaries," California Special District Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2008
• Author, "Swanson Mining Reconsidered: Is Section 7 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Constitutional?" West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, Vol. 8.1

Academic Background

B.A. State University of New York at Buffalo, 1991

J.D. University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 2002

• Recipient, CALI Excellence for the Future Award, Land Trusts/Conservation Easements Seminar
• Recipient, Witkin Award for Academic Excellence, Negotiation & Settlement
• Senior Articles Editor, West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy
• Legal Extern to the Honorable Saundra B. Armstrong, U.S. District Judge, Northern District of California