Two housing groups, including one backed by the California Association of Realtors, aims to force upzoning with a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles.
Yes In My Backyard Law, the legal division of the non-profit YIMBY Action, and CAR-supported Californians for Homeownership allege in their suit the city is violating state housing laws by shuffling its feet on zoning changes that would make way for thousands of new homes.
“The city of Los Angeles has pulled a bait-and-switch on the residents, advocates and state regulators that supported its high-quality housing plans,” Matthew Gelfand, in-house counsel at Californians for Homeownership, said in a statement. “Three years ago, the city attained state certification and avoided legal challenges to its housing element by making a strong commitment to revise zoning rules citywide. Now it has almost completely reneged on that commitment.”
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Planning Department told The Real Deal on Friday it does not comment on pending litigation, but said the city is in compliance with housing law.
The spokesperson went on to say the Citywide Housing Incentive Program, called CHIP, “responds to the housing crisis by creating housing capacity around transit, promoting housing in high-opportunity areas and boosting affordable housing citywide through a proven model for housing production.”
The housing groups filed their lawsuit on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, with the measure coming on the heels of a Feb. 5 warning letter sent to city council members, court documents show.
In the letter the groups said they intended to sue once the Feb. 12 deadline passed, which would have required 19 different actions be taken, including 16 community plan updates. The groups allege in their suit the city has made progress on five of those actions.
The state-mandated housing elements force cities to identify their housing shortfalls and find ways of addressing them. Los Angeles’ current housing plan identified the need for more than 255,000 new homes, with over 130,000 of those designated for low-income households, according to the lawsuit.
The massive rebuilding efforts that will take place in the months and years ahead for areas burned by the Palisades and Eaton fires have further pushed the conversation around housing needs to the fore.
“Los Angeles city government needs to take this seriously, especially after such devastating fires ravaged the county so recently,” YIMBY Law Executive Director Sonja Trauss said in a statement. “We need to rebuild quickly and efficiently.”
A spokesperson for the California Department of Housing and Community Development told TRD Friday it is aware of the lawsuit but declined to comment on the allegations.
HCD is responsible for ensuring compliance with housing laws. While the Feb. 12 deadline for rezoning was not changed, extensions were made for jurisdictions impacted by last month’s wildfires, according to the spokesperson.
“HCD is evaluating the rezones and will reach out to the city if there are any questions or concerns,” the HCD spokesperson said.