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.”