Patrick J. Schneider

Overview

Pat has more than 35 years of experience representing clients in large and complex entitlement matters and related litigation. 

Pat regularly advises on land use entitlement and litigation strategy for clients across the firm, including developers of downtown office and mixed-use towers, multi-family housing, commercial and industrial projects and forest land owners, among others.

Prior to entering private practice in 1997, Pat was the lead land use attorney for the City of Seattle, and before that was a senior land use attorney for King County. He helped draft the Land Use Petition Act and reforms to both the Growth Management Act and the State Environmental Policy Act.

Professional Activities

• Association of Washington Business, Member
  • Land Use Committee
• Washington State Bar Association, Member
  • Environmental and Land Use Section
    • Chair, 1996-1997
    • Executive Committee Member, 1992-1998

Community Activities

• King County Landmarks & Heritage Commission, Member
  • Chair, 2004-2005
  • Member, 1998-2005

Experience

• Represented Wright Runstad & Company in obtaining and defending a Master Use Permit entitling a one-million-square-foot mixed-use development in downtown Seattle. The project includes three levels of retail, a 12-story hotel, 750,000 square feet of office space and more than 200 residential units.
• Represented the University of Washington in obtaining the approvals needed for the new Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering. This entitlement process required litigation against the City of Seattle and local landmarks preservation groups.
• Successfully represented a residential developer in litigation to invalidate an onerous provision of Seattle’s Design Review ordinance.
• Represented Sound Transit in multiple matters, including:
  • Obtained and defended permits for the East Link light rail system across the I-90 Bridge despite attempted suspension of the project by a host city.
  • Obtained permits for East Link in Bellevue through the Mercer Slough Nature Park, including defending an appeal to the Shorelines Hearings Board.
  • Obtained and defended project permits for the Capitol Hill, Husky Stadium, U District, and Roosevelt light rail stations.
• Represented a port district in obtaining an $8 million jury verdict against a county for tortious abuse of the county’s regulatory authority during the permitting process for a gravel mine.
• Advises private real estate developers across the Puget Sound region on entitlement and land use strategy.
• Participates in efforts by the Association of Washington Business to reform state and local regulatory processes.

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