Arlington Missing Middle Case: Updates

/

On May 13th, the opening brief was filed in the Arlington Missing Middle case appeal. In addition to the opening brief, a separate appeal was filed to intervene by Wilsons Ventures, LLC, who received two Expanded Housing Amendment (EHO) permits to build homes on property purchased after the EHO Amendment passed. As a result of the trial court order, the developer could not receive a certificate of occupancy, and their developments were rendered unmarketable and potentially uninhabitable.

Below is a summary of where the case stands now and what could happen in the near future –

REPORT: Lakewood’s Open Space Ordinance

/

Passed under the false guise of protecting parkland, Lakewood's Citizen-drafted ordinance illegally increased burdens on multi-family housing and derailed over 100 development projects—jeopardizing both affordable housing and responsible land use. YIMBY Law jumped into action with local advocates, exposing the ordinance’s constitutional and legal flaws, mobilizing public pressure, and pushing the City Council to repeal it.

Read More

REPORT: Rezoning deadlines are here—and many CA cities are stalling.

/
REPORT: Rezoning deadlines are here—and many CA cities are stalling.

California cities have a legal duty to rezone to accommodate more housing. Through its tracking and accountability work, YIMBY Law is identifying jurisdictions that are failing to meet rezoning deadlines required by Housing Element law—deadlines that are essential for enabling new housing development. This work to track and report on rezonings holds cities accountable and impresses on them the seriousness of these laws.

Read More

Will 2025 be the Year of the Builder’s Remedy?

/

One of the most controversial housing bills in California that was signed into law last year was the Attorney General-backed AB 1893 (Wicks). This bill’s goal was to make the so-called Builder’s Remedy of the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) a more useful entitlement tool for developers. We wrote a summary of AB 1893 with our friends over at Patterson & O’Neill on this topic. While this bill may be helpful in making the builders remedy more useful, we’re most excited about how it strengthens the HAA.

Read More