This case is about ensuring that California’s housing laws work the way the legislature intended. When cities follow SB 35 and approve much-needed homes, those approvals should stand. Frivolous lawsuits like this one threaten to delay or derail housing that our communities urgently need.
Sonja Trauss, Executive Director of YIMBY Law
Read MoreYIMBY Law has created a new report that provides a powerful legal tool for challenging exclusionary zoning in the Keystone State. The report, The Pennsylvania Fair Share Doctrine: Excluding multi-family housing developments is already illegal in many Pennsylvania cities, details a decades-old legal principle that requires municipalities to provide their “fair share” of housing, particularly multi-family homes.
Read MoreOn August 6, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) abruptly withdrew from two major civil rights enforcement actions in Chicago. The cases concerned housing discrimination, and another addressed environmental racism from the siting of a metal shredding facility on the South Side. Both cases were nearing resolution after years of work from local and federal officials, and in both cases HUD had already determined that Chicago had engaged in unlawful discrimination. The administration justified this withdrawal, saying it would focus on “real concerns,” signaling that HUD’s own finding of racism in land use practices is not a concern for the current leadership.
This decision marks a serious setback for civil rights enforcement in Chicago and across the nation.
Read MoreAn important appellate case is now underway in California: Californians for Homeownership v. City of La Habra. At stake is whether local governments can bypass the clear public participation and state oversight requirements built into housing element law. YIMBY Law filed an amicus brief in support of enforcement, because the outcome will have major implications for the integrity of California’s housing planning framework.
Read MoreThe "NIMBY-industrial complex" thrives on financial incentives, allowing attorneys specializing in working with NIMBY groups to literally make a living by blocking housing developments through environmental lawsuits. YIMBY Law is supporting the City of Pacifica and a housing project in the city’s appeal of over $1m in attorneys fees that were improperly awarded to a NIMBY group,
Read MoreRancho Palos Verdes is in the south west corner of Los Angeles County, right next to Rolling Hills Estates. According to a blog I found by googling its name, “RPV is known for its breathtaking ocean views, luxurious homes, and serene environment, AND has been named the richest retirement town in the country.”
Like every other CA locality, they had to prepare a housing element, which they did do. They also got it certified! To get their certification, they committed to upzone several parcels of land around the city to allow for multifamily housing.
They did the upzoning (nice work!), a developer bought one of the sites, submitted an application to build housing and ….. Some neighbors freaked out. They pressured the city to stop processing this project, and lobbied the City Council to take several more sites off of their site inventory.
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