Johanna N. Canlas

Johanna N. Canlas

Johanna Canlas serves as City Attorney for the cities of Solana Beach and Coronado.  She is General Counsel of the successor agencies to the Community Development Agency for the City of Coronado and the Solana Beach Redevelopment Agency.  Johanna is the General Counsel to SBCS Corporation fka South Bay Community Services, a community-based nonprofit organization providing a comprehensive range of services for children, youth, and families in San Diego county.

Johanna served as the General Counsel to Solana Energy Alliance (SEA), the first Community Choice Energy program in the San Diego region prior to its merger into Clean Energy Alliance (CEA).

Johanna represents clients in all matters affecting public agency and non-profit governance, from day- to-day decision-making and operations to long-term policy implementation. These include land use, zoning and planning, environmental review and compliance, public contracting, labor and employment, real estate transactions, and intergovernmental relations.

Johanna is active with CalCities (League of California Cities). She was an inaugural member of the City Attorney’s Department Emergency Response Committee. She also served as the San Diego County Division Representative to the Legal Advocacy Committee. She is a past president of the City Attorneys Association of San Diego.

As a former prosecutor, Johanna has invaluable jury and court trial experience. She brings with her an inherent understanding of quality of life issues. She established programs working with stakeholders including law enforcement, businesses and resident groups to achieve practical and pragmatic solutions to community concerns.

Johanna has proven an effective advocate for clients.  She has represented them before regional boards, state permitting agencies, and federal regulatory bodies.  She built relationships she can draw upon to facilitate open dialogue and reach common ground when available. While Johanna provides constructive and practical legal advice to her clients, she will zealously defend them when needed. She prioritizes her relationships with clients, many of which span more than a decade.

  • Haro v. City of Solana Beach, 195 Cal.App.4th 542 (2011)

  • J.D., cum laude, California Western School of Law
  • B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara
  • State Bar of California
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of California
  • San Diego County Bar Association
  • Lawyers Club