Experience
Ms. Propp joined the firm’s legal team after many years working “in-house” for California public agencies. Her practice focuses on representing and advising nonprofits and public agencies on a wide range of governmental law issues including land use, real property, public contracts and bidding, public records requests, and open meeting law matters.
She has provided advice and training to nonprofits and public agency boards and commissions on the Brown Act, California Public Records Act, AB 1234 ethics, and conflicts of interest. Ms. Propp has represented elected and appointed boards and commissions including city councils, planning commissions, oversight boards, and special districts. She has also represented cities on a variety of issues including planning, community development, human resources, police, finance, public works, library, ADA compliance, annexations, and civil grand jury investigations. She currently serves as general counsel to nonprofits.
Some of the matters on which Ms. Propp has provided advice and representation on include:
- Specific Plan for a 250-acre Business Commercial Park project. including environmental issues, negotiations with multiple property owners on land use and development issues, sales tax agreements, infrastructure costs, and successful defense of related environmental/CEQA and infrastructure lawsuits.
- Formation of Community Facilities Districts (Mello-Roos) ($10 million for public improvements and $80 million for public improvements and infrastructure).
- Advice to and representation of Successor Agencies and Oversight Boards.
- Construction and lease agreements for a new Sports Park.
- Construction of new library.
- Council and Commission training on attorney-client communications, confidentiality, conflicts of interest and ethics.
- Established new revenue generating franchise agreement.
- Provided advice and implementation measures on Carbon Action Plans (CAP).
- Formed non-profit corporations to support innovation hub (technology park) partnership with Livermore National Lab and Sandia Lab.
- Advice to municipal utilities (water, sewer, etc.) and municipal electric utility engaged in generation, transmission and power trading.
Ms. Propp also has significant municipal litigation experience in state and federal courts. She has successfully represented local governments in sensitive and complex litigation including civil rights violations, challenges to ordinances, environmental disputes, governmental torts, and other government actions before state and federal trial courts and administrative law proceedings.
Related Experience
Prior to joining Sloan Sakai Yeung & Wong LLP, Ms. Propp was the Town Attorney/Redevelopment Agency General Counsel for the Town of Los Gatos from 2010 through 2013. She also served as Senior Assistant City Attorney for the City of Livermore for five years, Senior Deputy City Attorney for the City of Santa Clara and Silicon Valley Power and Deputy City Attorney for the City of San Jose . She has provided representation to school districts on disciplinary hearings.
In addition to public agencies, Ms. Propp has experience in the private sector on civil litigation matters, real property, landlord-tenant, and business transactions. She worked for law firms and her own law practice in San Luis Obispo County from 1991-1998.