A measure known as the “Builder’s Remedy” added to the state’s Housing Accountability Act in 1990 has suddenly become the focus of developers looking to bypass typical zoning rules and build high-rise apartment projects. According to The Press Enterprise, nine Southern California cities have received 26 Builder’s Remedy applications in the past eight months, seeking to construct over 8,500 new residences.
As explained in our prior alert, the Builder’s Remedy applies when a local jurisdiction has not adopted a revised Housing Element in compliance with state law, in which case the local jurisdiction cannot deny a qualifying housing development project even if it is inconsistent with the general plan and zoning ordinance (subject to limited exceptions). Many California cities and counties don’t have a state-approved Housing Element, which was required in Southern California by October 15, 2021 and in Northern California by January 31, 2023.
Plans to transform northeast Mission Bay into a combination of marshland, campsites, and recreation areas will take a key step Tuesday with the release of a multiyear city analysis of how the changes could affect the environment. The 446-page analysis, which concludes the proposal wouldn’t have significant adverse impacts, allows the approval process to advance to hearings later this year before the Planning Commission and City Council. City officials began considering major changes to the northeast corner of Mission Bay seven years ago when a large portion of the area became available for redevelopment after the closure of the De Anza Cove mobile home park.
A new lawsuit alleges that a local development moratorium to protect against landslide risk is really a “takings” claim, adding another layer to California’s broad war over development and local control. The suit comes from a property owner in Portuguese Bend, a largely undeveloped section of the Palos Verdes Peninsula with a 400-acre nature preserve. Since the City of Rancho Palos Verdes imposed a moratorium because of the area’s landslide risk, property owners have feuded with the city over the issue on and off for decades. The suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in February on behalf of Limetree Estates, the entity that owns the land.
Pasadena is hoping to curb developer overreach in major-project approvals by eliminating the city’s planned development process altogether. In a public hearing Monday, the Pasadena City Council decided to do away with the planned development option through a zoning code amendment. The planned development option currently allows for sites two acres and larger to be developed with a particular mix of land uses, appearance, and design standards that typically would not be achieved through piecemeal development.
The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, which challenged the city and county’s pro-renter ordinances during the pandemic, has filed another lawsuit to overturn the city’s newest tenant protection measures. Under the ordinances, a landlord cannot evict a tenant unless the amount due exceeds one month of fair market rent for a similar size unit in the Los Angeles metro area set by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Another ordinance the association is asking the courts to overturn requires a landlord to pay relocation assistance to a tenant.
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