Californians for Homeownership, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the California Association of Realtors, has announced that it has filed lawsuits against the cities of Claremont, Fullerton and La Mirada to enforce state housing element law.
The group also announced it has settled previously reported lawsuits with the cities of Bradbury, Laguna Hills and South Pasadena. Those settlements commit those cities to specific timelines for adoption of their housing elements and to make changes as needed to ensure that the housing elements they adopt will be eligible for certification by state regulators. The settling cities also agreed to reimburse Californians for Homeownership for its costs and legal fees, and to comply with state law penalties that override local development standards for mixed-income housing developments in cities that are out of compliance with housing element law—a provision often referred to as the “builder’s remedy.”
New housing planning documents, called housing elements, were due on October 15 in the Southern California region. While some Southern California cities embraced the process, many, included those named in the name lawsuits, reportedly have resisted or delayed.
“Californians for Homeownership continues to lead the way in using the courts to enforce these critical laws, which require cities and counties to ensure that their zoning requirements will allow enough housing to be built over the next decade,” said CAR President Otto Catrina. “The recent settlements and the new lawsuits send a message to cities throughout the state that every city has an affirmative obligation to plan for the housing growth needed to support California’s growing population.”