 Scott Peters brings a wealth of experience and skills to the City Council. Having worked for both the government and the private sector as well as for a variety of community interests, Peters understands both the limits of government and the potential of our city. As an attorney practicing in the delicate field of environmental regulation for more than 14 years, Peters has finely tuned the critical skill of reconciling public and private interests.
As Deputy County Attorney for San Diego from 1991 to 1996, Peters supervised a land-use/ litigation team which handled a wide range of county disputes, covering such areas as contamination, development, and waste management. Earlier in his career, Peters served as an economist for the US Environmental Protection Agency applying cost/benefit analysis to new government regulations.
As a private attorney, Peters has helped businesses and government clients understand and comply with their environmental obligations. His work with companies that range in size from small family businesses to the Fortune 500 has given him a keen insight into building and managing a business in a complex regulatory environment.
Family and Personal History Professional Experience
Community Involvement Presentations and Publications
Family and Personal History
 The son of a Lutheran minister and a homemaker, Scott was born in Springfield, Ohio, on June 17, 1958, and raised in the suburbs of Detroit and New York. Scott attended Duke University, graduating magna cum laude in 1980. He served for a year as an economist at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC, and then entered New York University School of Law, where he received his JD in 1984.
Scott's first legal job was with Dorsey & Whitney, a 300-lawyer international law firm based in Minneapolis. After a year as a tax lawyer, Scott switched to environmental law, representing several large corporations on an array of regulatory issues. While he was in Minneapolis, he began to date Lynn, whom he had first met in college. They married in 1986, and two years later moved to San Diego. Scott worked at Baker & McKenzie, the world's largest law firm, until he left for the County Counsel's office in 1991. In 1996, he started his own environmental law firm, Peters & Varco LLP.
Lynn and Scott had a daughter in 1991 and a son in 1993.
Scott and his three sisters remain close. Scott's parents, Harvey and Ruth Ann, are retired and now live in downtown San Diego.
Professional Experience
Scott Peters has extensive experience advising public sector clients with respect to general legal issues, litigation, land use and code enforcement, and other environmental matters. From 1991 to 1996, Scott was Deputy County Counsel for the County of San Diego, supervising a seven-lawyer team handling permitting issues and defending claims against the County arising out of the County’s landfill system and the use and sale of other real property. Scott successfully represented the County, before judges, juries and permitting agencies, against numerous and various claims. Scott has argued cases before the California Court of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Prior to joining the County, Scott was a lawyer with two large international law firms, Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis, and Baker & McKenzie in San Diego, and was also a staff economist for the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC. Scott graduated from Duke University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in 1980 and received his J. D. from New York University School of Law in 1984.
Scott is a member in good standing of the State Bar of California. He is an inactive member of the State Bar of Minnesota. Scott has been admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Southern, Central, and Northern Districts of California. Scott is also admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
Scott is a member of the Environmental Law sections of the American Bar Association, the California State Bar, and the San Diego County Bar Association. Scott is also a Regional Coordinator for the American Bar Association’s Special Committee on Solid Waste.
Trustee and Chair of the Land Use Committee, La Jolla Town Council
Board Member and Vice President, Citizens Coordinate for Century 3
Member, Public Working Committee, Lindbergh Field Master Plan
Member, SANDAG Integrated Waste Management Citizens Advisory Council
Executive Committee, Committee of 2000
Former President, Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church (1997)
Member, San Diego County Air Quality Strategy Development Committee (1995-96)
Graduate, LEAD San Diego (1995)
Former President, Friends of the La Jolla Library (1994)
Coach, La Jolla Youth Soccer League and Youth Baseball League (1996, 1998, 1999)
Presentations and Publications
"Privatization of Public Services," American Bar Association of Environment, Energy, and Resources Annual Meeting (Moderator), October 1999.
"Hazardous Waste and Real Property Transactions," Continuing Education of the Bar, California, 1998
"Practice Tips for Defending Municipal Solid Waste Landfills," State & Local Law News, Vol. 21, No. 1, Fall 1997
1996 Solid Waste/Hazardous Materials Study Section, County Counsel Association, "Recent Developments in Common Law Claims For Cost Recovery."
1994 Solid Waste/Hazardous Materials Section, County Counsel Association, "Municipal Solid Waste Flow Control After Carbone."
"A Guide for Foreign Investors to Environmental Laws in the United States," 28 San Diego Law Review 897 (Winter 1991).
"Managing Waste for Southern California, 2000 and Beyond," (The Rose Institute), Claremont McKenna College, June 4, 1999.
1990 U.S.-Mexico Business and Investment Symposium, Greater Los Angeles World Trade Center Associates and Latin Business Association, "Mexico's Maquiladora Industry: Environmental Issues and Problems," Los Angeles.
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