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Jon Welner

Partner
Partner
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VCard
VCard

Areas of Focus

Overview

Jon Welner is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s San Francisco office. He brings more than 25 years of experience addressing environmental regulatory challenges and resolving land development disputes for businesses and local governments in California.

Jon’s practice focuses on all areas of environmental law, including the regulation of air, water, hazardous materials and waste, consumer products, traditional and renewable energy, and natural resources. He has significant experience helping clients navigate the California Environmental Quality Act, Proposition 65, and brownfield redevelopment. Jon helps clients obtain land use entitlements, and he has significant experience with coastal development and the permitting of industrial and energy facilities.

Jon represents clients on their most challenging land use disputes. He has represented the City of Redondo Beach over the past decade and serves as its principal outside counsel on land use issues. Jon advises clients at both the state and federal level, and he has appeared before all California environmental regulatory agencies. He regularly performs environmental due diligence on large-scale corporate and real estate transactions.

He has a long track record of public service. He is the former mayor and current vice mayor of the Town of Tiburon and has served for seven years on the Town Council. Prior to that, he served for six years on the Tiburon Planning Commission, including as chair and vice chair. In addition, previously, he was a senior official at the California Natural Resources Agency.

Jon’s experience also includes development-related labor issues, including prevailing wage law and project labor agreements. He regularly represents developers and trade associations before the Department of Industrial Relations and has negotiated numerous project labor agreements, including the agreement for Baylands North, one of the largest residential projects in San Francisco.

Career & Education

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    • California National Resources Agency
      Senior Official
    • Former Mayor, Town of Tiburon
      Council Member, 2018–Present
    • California National Resources Agency
      Senior Official
    • Former Mayor, Town of Tiburon
      Council Member, 2018–Present

    • Stanford Law School, J.D.
    • Stanford University, B.A., with distinction
    • Stanford Law School, J.D.
    • Stanford University, B.A., with distinction

    • California
    • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
    • California
    • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

    • Judicial Clerk for Honorable Samuel Conti, Northern District of California
    • Judicial Clerk for Honorable Samuel Conti, Northern District of California

    • Council Member, Former Mayor, Town of Tiburon, 2018–Present

    • Board Member and former President, Osher Marin Jewish Community Center
    • Executive Committee member and former Chair, Environmental Law Section, Bar Association of San Francisco
    • Advisory Board member, Environmental Law Section, California Lawyers Association (formerly the California State Bar)
    • Board of Directors, John Gardner Fellowship Association
    • Advisory Board, Stanford-in-Government

    • Council Member, Former Mayor, Town of Tiburon, 2018–Present

    • Board Member and former President, Osher Marin Jewish Community Center
    • Executive Committee member and former Chair, Environmental Law Section, Bar Association of San Francisco
    • Advisory Board member, Environmental Law Section, California Lawyers Association (formerly the California State Bar)
    • Board of Directors, John Gardner Fellowship Association
    • Advisory Board, Stanford-in-Government

Jon's Insights

Event | 05.14.25

"The Tide is High: New Guidance on Sea-Level Rise," The Bar Association of San Francisco

Jon Welner will be interviewing Larry Goldzband, the Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), on the Commission’s new plan to prepare the SF Bay Area for sea-level rise. BCDC is the agency responsible for permitting all development on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. On December 5, 2024, the BCDC adopted the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). The RSAP is a region-wide plan for the San Francisco Bay shoreline that guides the creation of coordinated, locally planned sea level rise adaptation actions that work together to achieve a regional One Bay Vision. This includes BCDC’s guidelines for how local governments must meet the requirements of SB 272, a new State mandate that requires all local governments along the shoreline to prepare a Subregional Shoreline Adaptation Plan by 2034.

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Recognition

  • Super Lawyers, Northern California, 2017–2021, 2023
  • Best Lawyers in America, Environmental Law; Litigation — Environmental; Natural Resources Law; Real Estate Law, 2016–2025

Jon's Insights

Event | 05.14.25

"The Tide is High: New Guidance on Sea-Level Rise," The Bar Association of San Francisco

Jon Welner will be interviewing Larry Goldzband, the Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), on the Commission’s new plan to prepare the SF Bay Area for sea-level rise. BCDC is the agency responsible for permitting all development on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. On December 5, 2024, the BCDC adopted the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). The RSAP is a region-wide plan for the San Francisco Bay shoreline that guides the creation of coordinated, locally planned sea level rise adaptation actions that work together to achieve a regional One Bay Vision. This includes BCDC’s guidelines for how local governments must meet the requirements of SB 272, a new State mandate that requires all local governments along the shoreline to prepare a Subregional Shoreline Adaptation Plan by 2034.

View All Insights

Practices

Jon's Insights

Event | 05.14.25

"The Tide is High: New Guidance on Sea-Level Rise," The Bar Association of San Francisco

Jon Welner will be interviewing Larry Goldzband, the Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), on the Commission’s new plan to prepare the SF Bay Area for sea-level rise. BCDC is the agency responsible for permitting all development on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. On December 5, 2024, the BCDC adopted the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP). The RSAP is a region-wide plan for the San Francisco Bay shoreline that guides the creation of coordinated, locally planned sea level rise adaptation actions that work together to achieve a regional One Bay Vision. This includes BCDC’s guidelines for how local governments must meet the requirements of SB 272, a new State mandate that requires all local governments along the shoreline to prepare a Subregional Shoreline Adaptation Plan by 2034.

View All Insights