Chapter 40R/Smart Growth Zoning:  We developed new regulations and a model zoning bylaw for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development for the new smart growth law, Chapter 40R, that provides incentives for high-density local zoning overlay districts near transit stations and in other appropriate locations.  For the City of Somerville we developed new zoning for the Union Square area that provides incentives for high-density housing and mixed-use development and arts-related uses.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Hazardous Waste Sites: We serve as outside environmental counsel to the MBTA for CERCLA and 21E hazardous waste sites involving the MBTA.  We advise on strategic and legal issues and negotiate on behalf of the MBTA with U.S. EPA and DOJ and Mass. DEP.



MBTA Silver Line: We serve as outside environmental counsel to the MBTA for the environmental review and permitting of a proposed new $750 million bus rapid transit tunnel under downtown Boston, advising on NEPA and MEPA review, open space, historic resource, and environmental justice concerns.

Wind Power: Noble & Wickersham serves as environmental counsel for the first major land-based wind farm in Massachusetts, advising on environmental impact review, wetlands, endangered species, and DPU issues. As MEPA director, Jay Wickersham oversaw development of EIS/EIR scope for the Cape Wind project.  He has written and lectured widely on the legal and policy issues related to wind power facilities.

Electric Transmission Line Siting and Environmental Impact Review:  We advised the Vermont Public Service Board on various environmental and aesthetic impacts under Vermont’s Act 250 of a 75-mile electric transmission line, and drafted the portions of its decision on those issues.  The Board’s decision was upheld on appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Waterfront Planning and Development: Jay Wickersham co-chaired the State’s Task Force on Waterfront Development that streamlined Massachusetts Chapter 91 regulations and shifted policy from individual project reviews to the approval of Municipal Harbor Plan (MHPs). He then led the state review and conditional approval of Boston’s MHP for the South Boston waterfront, including the Fan Pier and Pier 4 developments.

Coordinating State and Local Reviews:  Noble & Wickersham attorneys understand the importance of coordinating the local planning and zoning process with state-level environmental reviews, so that well-planned projects can advance smoothly and expeditiously through the permitting procedures.  As state MEPA director between 1998 and 2002, Jay Wickersham oversaw environmental impact reviews of major public and private projects, including:  the Central Artery / Tunnel project; Logan Airport expansion; new MBTA mass transit lines; and major developments including the South Boston waterfront, the South Weymouth Naval Air Station, and Mashpee Commons. We have successfully represented private, public, and nonprofit development projects before a wide range of state and local agencies.

Smart Growth Litigation—Albuquerque Commons Case, New Mexico Court of Appeals:  Noble & Wickersham, as counsel to the Boston Society of Architects, prepared a friend of the court brief for the City of Albuquergue, along with the American Planning Association and the National League of Cities, in a precedent-setting case on the constitutionality of zoning to create compact, walkable, mixed-use urban centers. An $8 million taking claim against the City and its zoning was overturned on appeal.