YIMBY Law Files Lawsuit Against Governor Newsom’s Executive Order Suspending SB 9 in Los Angeles Burn Areas

LOS ANGELES – Nearly one year after catastrophic wildfires devastated communities in Los Angeles County, YIMBY Law has filed a lawsuit challenging an Executive Order from Governor Gavin Newsom giving local governments discretion to limit or suspend SB 9 development in certain high fire hazard severity zones within the Los Angeles burn areas. This Executive Order is, ironically, hampering recovery and harming the very communities it purports to support. Protecting SB 9 is essential to rebuilding these areas equitably, safely and sustainably so that future generations can afford to live there.

SB 9, passed by the California Legislature and signed into law in 2021, allows property owners in qualifying single-family neighborhoods to split lots and build up to two homes and two Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on what was previously a single parcel. The law was designed to reduce regulatory barriers, add urgently needed housing, and create more equitable opportunities for families to build generational stability in high-cost communities. 

Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order was issued in July 2025. Giving local jurisdictions this type of ability was an unprecedented move, making it harder and more expensive to rebuild. 

SB 9 is and remains a critical tool for rebuilding equitably and sustainably in communities like the Pacific Palisades and Malibu. California’s local and state leaders have made the decision to allow residents to rebuild in these and other fire-prone areas, which will require safer construction and fire-proofing. SB 9 allows homeowners, many of whom were underinsured and have only the value of their land to put toward rebuilding, to split their lots and sell unused land, or build ADUs and duplexes that generate rental income or support intergenerational living. Without these options, it will be nearly impossible for low-income and working class people to return to and live in these communities. 

“My parents survived the Eaton Fire, but our home didn’t,” said Andrew Post, whose family home burned down in 2024. “Now, as we want to rebuild and come back to the community we love, we’re staring down costs we can’t meet. SB 9 isn’t a danger, it’s a lifeline. It gives people like us a real chance to rebuild by creating rental income or making space for multiple generations and families to live on the same land. Taking that option away means pushing out the very people who are trying hardest to come back.”

“The scale of loss was all-encompassing, and we need to make it easier and more equitable to rebuild,” said Sonja Trauss, the Executive Director of YIMBY Law. “Families of all types are struggling to return to their communities. Most homeowners were under-insured, and now rents are spiking, land values are falling, and rebuilding costs are astronomical. Making it harder for families to use the single most impactful tool they have left––their land––doesn’t make recovery safer. It raises the barrier of who gets to come back at all.”

Governor Newsom’s Executive Order to suspend SB 9 came after a pressure campaign from influencers like former reality TV star and TikToker Spencer Pratt, whose home in the Palisades burned down in the fire. While these influencers claimed that splitting lots, as SB 9 allows, would endanger people’s ability to leave the Palisades if there were to be another fire, the reality is that there are many strategies available to communities to reduce fire risk and support orderly evacuation. Where there are no other mitigation options, state law already allows cities to prohibit new housing.

The Los Angeles wildfires destroyed more than buildings, they uprooted whole communities. SB 9 helps residents rebuild. We must defend the state laws that create rebuilding opportunities for working families so everyone can move back––not only the wealthiest homeowners whose insurance or personal savings can cover the construction of a single family home on a large lot. 

YIMBY Law’s suit asserts these claims about Newsom’s Executive Order:

1. It violates the California Emergency Services Act - Emergency powers may be used only to mitigate ongoing disasters, not to suspend laws preemptively for speculative future crises, and cannot be delegated carte blanche to localities.

2. It is constitutional overreach and violates the separation of powers - The Legislature already weighed evacuation risk, fire safety constraints, and relief from local discretionary review when passing SB 9, including explicit carve-outs for high fire-severity zones.

3. It violates SB 9’s statutory guardrails - The Governor lacks authority to selectively suspend one ministerial housing law under the guise of emergency mitigation where objective fire-safety exclusions already apply.

YIMBY Law Denounces CA Governor’s Attempts to Block Duplexes in Fire-Affected Areas, Considers Lawsuit

YIMBY Law condemns Governor Newsom’s executive action blocking duplexes and lot splits in LA’s rebuilding efforts after the Palisades fire. We are considering filing an emergency lawsuit to defend the law and allow more homes as a part of the rebuilding process. This is a crucial opportunity to rebuild these communities in a way that supports climate resilience and housing accessibility. Governor Newsom should be facilitating this process; instead, he is buckling to anti-housing interests that artificially restrict the number of homes in these neighborhoods.

“This order throws out any opportunities to increase climate and fire resiliency in these neighborhoods,” said Zachary Pitts, YIMBY Los Angeles’s Organizing Director. “The worst thing we can do is rebuild in the exact same way and face the exact same risk. Density reduces fire risk, suburbia increases it.”

The stated purpose of the Executive Order is to "afford local governments increased discretion to ensure that SB 9 development in the rebuilding areas appropriately accounts for fire safety concerns.” However, SB 9 already requires proposed development in high fire zones to meet updated ingress and egress standards. It also already allows local governments to deny a project that would have “a specific, adverse impact on public health and safety that cannot be mitigated.”  

The California Emergency Services Act allows the Governor to suspend state laws if "strict compliance with any statute, order, rule, or regulation would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the emergency." SB 9 in no way prevents mitigation of the fires’ effects. To the contrary, building new housing—which is what SB 9 facilitates—mitigates the effects of the fires. Suspending SB 9 and allowing LA to prevent higher-density, more fire-safe new housing in the Palisades is a cynical perversion of the purpose of emergency orders.

YIMBY Law is considering a lawsuit to challenge this executive order. Governments are permitted to take actions that mitigate the effects of an emergency. This executive action, however, does not mitigate the effects of the Palisades fire. Instead, it hinders the rebuilding process, makes LA more susceptible to future fires, and reduces the community’s ability to address the housing shortage. 

SB 9, the law Governor Newsom blocked with this executive order, was enacted as one of many necessary measures to address the emergency of the housing shortage. A severe lack of homes drives homelessness and housing insecurity, while driving tens of thousands of residents to leave California in an attempt to find more affordable housing. LA and its surrounding neighborhoods desperately need more homes to accommodate the needs of the people who live and work there. The future of the state’s climate resilience, economy, and resident safety depend on the implementation of SB 9 and similar laws that help address the housing shortage.

“This is an alarming abuse of state executive powers,” said Sonja Trauss, Executive Director at YIMBY Law. “The legislature passed SB 9 to increase the number of homes in existing neighborhoods. This is an opportunity for homeowners to choose to add more homes on their land as they make tough decisions about how to rebuild their lives after the Palisades fire. Legitimate concerns about evacuation routes should be addressed by creating more evacuation routes from the Palisades, not by preventing housing. Newsom’s executive order will create uncertainty in the rebuilding process and reduce the number of homes in LA.”

On July 30, Governor Newsom signed an executive order that will remain in effect as long as the state of emergency from the Palisades fire remains active. It allows local governments to curb the implementation of SB 9 (a law passed in 2021 that legalized duplexes and lot splits in most single-family-only neighborhoods) within the LA fire burn scars. The order affects the entire Palisades within the city of LA, the eastern foothills portions of Altadena, Sunset Mesa, and Malibu. It also includes a 7-day pause on SB 9 development in these neighborhoods to allow local governments to create their own standards. 

Immediately after SB 9 was passed, municipalities abused the emergency process to block its implementation, leading the CA Attorney General to issue guidance to cities, reminding them what is and isn’t a legal basis for an urgency ordinance. The Governor’s executive order is a continuation of these tactics, with an ongoing focus on exempting wealthy neighborhoods from building their fair share of housing to help end the housing shortage. If allowed to continue, this order has the potential to block all duplexes and lot splits in these neighborhoods, undermining the law as it was passed by the California legislature. The order is especially alarming given that this a crucial time in the rebuilding process, just six months after a devastating fire that razed over 5,400 homes.

SB 9 is an important avenue for homeowners to rebuild in a way that works for them. Adding more homes to a lot creates opportunities for more people to live in the neighborhood, increases options for multigenerational households, and provides new housing types at different price points to allow for more diverse, vibrant neighborhoods. Building a more dense neighborhood footprint is also an important part of reducing the risk of fires in the future by making these communities more climate resilient. Increased density encourages less car usage, reducing air pollution and supporting California’s climate goals.

“This overreach of executive powers sets a dangerous precedent for how the state and local municipalities will continue to block new homes if left unchecked,” said Jae Hendrix, Communications Director at YIMBY Law. “We urge Governor Newsom to follow the law and allow LA to create more fire-resistant communities as it rebuilds.”

Yes In My Back Yard Awarded $250,000 Grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to Advance Health Equity Through Pro-Housing Policy Implementation

“Housing policy is health policy,” said YIMBY ED Sonja Trauss.

PLAINSBORO, NEW JERSEY - Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) is proud to announce it has received a $250,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime.

The grant is being awarded under RWJF’s Reimagining Land Use and Zoning for Health Equity call for proposals, which is funding 10 organizations to address the role that exclusionary land use and zoning policies play in driving health inequities. Through this program, RWJF is supporting YIMBY’s efforts to challenge the deeply entrenched systems that restrict access to affordable housing, especially in America’s healthiest and highest-resource areas.

YIMBY will focus on scaling the implementation of pro-housing laws (such as state-level zoning reform, streamlining mandates, and fair housing enforcement) in cities and neighborhoods that have historically deployed local land use controls to limit new housing and exclude lower- income people. These exclusionary communities consistently rank among the healthiest in the country, yet remain some of the most inaccessible due to restrictive zoning and high housing costs.

“This grant is a powerful recognition that housing policy is health policy,” said Sonja Trauss, Executive Director of YIMBY. “By ensuring pro-housing laws are implemented in healthy, high- resource areas that have blocked new housing, we can begin to undo decades of exclusion and ensure people from all backgrounds have access to America’s healthiest zipcodes.” RWJF’s Land Use and Zoning initiative acknowledges that restrictive zoning has long been a structural barrier to health equity by limiting access to safe, stable housing, well-resourced schools, parks, and economic opportunity.

With this support from RWJF, YIMBY will expand its model of implementing state housing law through monitoring, education, and enforcement. A growing body of research, including YIMBY’s own research, reveals that state housing law doesn’t turn into new homes without focused implementation efforts. This project will particularly focus on implementing housing law in jurisdictions that have the strongest life expectancies and health outcomes but have an entrenched history of blocking new housing.

*Support for this program is provided in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.