Courtney A. Kaylor

Courtney’s practice focuses on land use and environmental permitting, administrative appeals and litigation. She provides strategic advice and advocacy to achieve her clients’ land use entitlement goals and successful resolution of land use litigation matters.  

Clients often come to Courtney when they have a complex or controversial project that may face opposition and appeal. Bringing years of experience and a deep knowledge of both the law and the regulatory landscape, Courtney helps her clients avoid appeals when possible, and resolve them quickly and successfully when not, so that their projects can move forward. 

A frequent speaker, Courtney helps educate clients regarding court decisions, legislative developments and other issues that impact development. 

Courtney also serves as a mediator to facilitate early and lasting resolution of land use disputes.

• Successfully defended appeals of land use approvals for multiple urban multifamily residential and mixed-use projects providing more than 1,000 units of new housing in downtown Seattle through the Court of Appeals level, including issues of first impression under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)
  
• Successfully defended appeals of land use approvals for industrial projects including 2.5 M square feet of development on a 150-acre site, 1.4 M square feet of development on a 100-acre site and 440,000 of new development within existing 400-acre corporate campus, including novel issues relating to SEPA review of air quality impacts
  
• Successfully defended appeals of land use approvals for up to 1.83 M square feet of new industrial, office, retail and residential development on a 250-acre site, including issues relating to SEPA review of traffic, wetlands, groundwater and legacy contamination

• Obtained land use entitlements for residential, commercial and industrial development, including many projects on which appeal and litigation representation was also provided
  
• Assisted clients to navigate local, state and federal permits required for development of projects on challenging sites, including resolution of issues relating to transportation, critical areas, shorelines and historic resources
  
• Negotiated development agreements for large-scale phased mixed-use and industrial projects
  

• The Best Lawyers in America^© Land Use and Zoning Law 2023-2024
• Washington Super Lawyers 2022-2024
• Washington State Bar Association
  • Environmental and Land Use Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections, Member
• Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Past Chair
• Environmental and Land Use Mediation Committee, Past Chair
• King County Bar Association,
  • Environmental and Land Use Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections, Member
• King County Interlocal Conflict Resolution Group, Mediator
• Washington Mediation Association, Past President

• Ethical Considerations for Lawyers in Land Use Matters, The Seminar Group, June 2024
• Environmental Justice – Implementation and Practical Considerations, 2024 Environmental and Land Use Law Midyear Conference, April 2024. 
• Land Use Permit Appeals, Seattle University School of Law, November 2023, November 2022
• Streamlining SEPA Review for Urban Housing: Recent Legislation and Cases, 2023 Environmental and Land Use Law Midyear Conference, May 2023
• Land Use Permitting, University of Washington Foster School of Business, May 2023, May 2020, April 2019, April 2018 and April 2016
• Streamlining SEPA Review for Urban Housing: Appeal Exemptions Under RCW 43.21C.501, Hearing Examiner’s Association of Washington 2022 Annual Conference, October 2022
• Ethical Considerations for Lawyers Engaged in Permitting Efforts, The Seminar Group, June 2022
• Land Use Appeals and Growth Management & Land Use Permitting, University of Washington School of Law, April 2021, April 2020
• Assessing the Role of SEPA in the Modern Regulatory Era, Growth Management Act Conference, November 2019
• Recent Experiences and New Twists on the Interaction of SEPA and GMA in the Urban Environment, Hearing Examiner’s Association of Washington 2018 Annual Conference, October 2018
• Land Use Appeals and Settlement and Land Use Planning, University of Washington College of Built Environments, May 2018, April 2017, December 2015
• Short Term Rental: Bane or Benefit, Hearing Examiner’s Association of Washington 2016 Annual Conference, October 2016
• You Can’t Always Get What You Want But if You Try You Might Get What You Need (Mediation and Negotiation in Land Use Disputes), 2016 Environmental and Land Use Law Midyear Conference, May 2016

• State Bar of California
• Washington State Bar Association
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 9^th Circuit
• United States District Court, W. Dist. Wash

• Saint Mary’s College of California, B.A., summa cum laude
• Hastings College of the Law, J.D.