Seth Samuels serves as Councilmember Blumenfield’s Land Use Planning and Casework Deputy and helps manage land use and planning issues affecting the district. Prior to his work with Councilmember Blumenfield, Seth worked as an environmental law and urban planning specialist for a law firm in the San Fernando Valley. As an environmental law and urban planning specialist, Seth closely examined and evaluated CEQA Environmental Impact Reports prepared in conjunction with numerous development projects proposals around the southland and worked on federal and state mandated environmental cleanup endeavors associated with oil-well and toxic substance contamination in groundwater aquifers. Seth has also worked at law firms that specialize in the procurement of waste haul franchise contracts, as well as in the provision of city-attorney services for small and mid-size cities and special districts throughout the state of California. Seth previously worked in several Los Angeles City Hall departments, including the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Business Policy under then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the City Attorney’s Office of Complex Civil Litigation, and the City Attorney’s Land Use Division. Seth received his B.A. in Urban Studies from Columbia University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, with departmental honors. Seth continued his education as a joint enrollee at both UCLA’s School of Law, where he earned his J.D. in Environmental and Natural Resource Law, and UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, where he earned his Master of Urban and Regional Studies (M.U.R.P.) with a specialization in Environmental Analysis and Policy. Seth is currently studying for his AICP Certification. While not working on urban and land-use matters in the City of Los Angeles, Seth enjoys woodworking and rocking out to classic rock with his wife.