Defending SB 35 in Benicia: Protecting Homes and the Democratic Process
/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
California’s housing laws are only as strong as our willingness to defend them. That’s why YIMBY Law has joined an amicus brief in support of two properly approved housing projects in Benicia and why this case is about more than just one city. We’re fighting to protect the will of the California Legislature, the rule of law, and the promise that our democratic process should not be undone by a handful of wealthy opponents.
The Case
By joining this amicus brief, YIMBY Law is defending not just two developments in Benicia, but the rule of law, the will of the voters, and the democratic promise that California can and will build the housing it desperately needs.
In 2022, the City of Benicia approved two adjoining multifamily housing developments under Senate Bill 35 (SB 35), the landmark 2017 law designed to make housing approvals faster and more predictable in cities that aren’t meeting their state housing goals. These projects fully complied with the law. They met all objective local zoning standards, included affordable units, and qualified for ministerial approval, meaning they should be approved automatically without lengthy hearings or appeals.
Soon after the approvals, a local opposition group sued to overturn them. Their lawsuit claims the projects don’t meet SB 35’s criteria, that they conflict with “objective” local standards, and that they harm wetlands, historic buildings, and the public’s right to environmental appeals.
Alongside Californians for Homeownership, YIMBY Law filed an amicus brief showing why these claims are factually and legally wrong. The projects meet SB 35’s requirements. The so-called “objective” standards are not objective under state law, there are no wetlands or historic resources on the sites, and SB 35’s ministerial process means these projects are not subject to CEQA appeals.
What SB 35 Does and Why It Matters to Housing Production
Passed in 2017 and authored by Senator Scott Wiener, SB 35 was a response to decades of local obstruction and missed housing targets. Simply put: if a locality hasn’t built enough housing, SB 35 doesn’t allow them to keep saying “no”.
It creates a streamlined, ministerial approval process for housing projects in cities that haven’t met their housing obligations under the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). If a proposed project meets objective zoning, design, and affordability standards, the locality must approve it with no public hearing, CEQA review, or political discretion. These requirements restore fairness and predictability to housing production by replacing arbitrary local decision-making with clear, enforceable rules.
A Threat to Democracy, Not Just Housing
The Benicia lawsuit isn’t just an attack on two projects–it’s an attack on the democratic process itself. California’s democratically elected legislature debated and passed the bill, and it was signed into law by a democratically elected governor. That process reflects the will of the people, which is to make it easier to build homes where we need them most.
Now, a few wealthy landowners and business interests are trying to overrule that democratic decision through the courts by substituting their personal preferences for the collective policy choices made by the people’s representatives.
If they succeed, it won’t just block these needed homes. It will send a message that local elites can override state law, that no housing reform is safe from litigation, and that our democracy stops where views of the wealthy begin.
The Bigger Picture
Every SB 35 case matters because each one tests whether California’s housing laws will hold under pressure. When a city like Benicia follows the law, its approvals should stand, not get tied up in endless lawsuits brought by those who already have homes, power, and money to burn on frivolous litigation.
YIMBY Law’s role is to defend projects like this, ensuring that California’s pro-housing framework delivers real results. Because every time a project is delayed, families stay priced out, commutes get longer, and our housing crisis deepens.