Robert W. Hargreaves

Partner

Robert W. Hargreaves practices general municipal, land use and energy law. He is a partner in the Municipal Law practice group of Best Best & Krieger LLP. Bob is the city attorney for the City of Palm Desert and represents the cities of Indian Wells, Coachella, Needles and San Jacinto in various capacities. He is general counsel to the Salton Sea Authority, the Valley Sanitary District and the Mt. San Jacinto Winter Park Authority.

In addition to general representation of local governmental entities, Bob focuses on land use law. He has assisted both public and private clients in the entitlement process for large desert development projects. He has also represented public agencies in multi-party negotiations regarding use of Colorado River water and groundwater management. Bob has litigated land use, environmental, takings and Native American law issues before state and federal courts and administrative agencies, and has represented both Native American tribes and private individuals with respect to Native American law disputes.

Bob has represented municipal utilities on a variety of issues and recently negotiated a power purchase agreement for a utility scale thermal solar project near Needles. He represents solar developers in large, customer-serving applications.

Bob sits on the board of directors of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and is a leader of its Renewable Energy Roundtable. He also serves on the boards of directors of the Friends of the Desert Mountains and the Palm Springs Air Museum. Bob previously served on the advisory boards of the UC Riverside's Southern California Research Institute for Solar Energy (SCRISE) and Wilson Center for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Systems. He is past-president of the Family YMCA of the Desert, a charter member of the Coachella Valley Autism Society of America, and has been an assistant Boy Scout leader.

Bob graduated with great distinction from the University of California, Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in computer science. After serving in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, he received his Juris Doctorate degree from U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law in 1988, where he focused on land use, environmental and water law.

Education

• University of California, Berkeley, J.D. (1988)
• University of California, Berkeley, B.A., with great distinction

Bar Admissions

• California (1988)

Awards

• Top Lawyers in the Coachella Valley, Palm Springs Life magazine (2016)
• Top 70 Lawyers in Coachella Valley, Palm Springs Life (2014)

Community Involvement

• Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (legislative committees )
• Desert BIA (legislative committees )
• Green Building Council (legislative committees )
• Salton Sea Authority (general counsel )
• Valley Sanitary District (general counsel )
• Mt. San Jacinto Winter Park Authority (general counsel)