Legal Battles Over California’s “Builder’s Remedy” Law: Recent Court Rulings and Implications for Developers and Cities

“Legal Battles Over California’s ‘Builder’s Remedy’ Law Heat Up in Courtrooms Across Southern California”

A year-long battle between California cities and developers over the state’s “builder’s remedy” law is escalating in courtrooms across Southern California. Recent rulings in Los Angeles County have favored developers, signaling a potential shift in the building and zoning landscape.

The “builder’s remedy” law, in place since 1990, allows housing projects that do not comply with local zoning regulations in cities without state-certified housing plans. Developers must set aside a portion of units for low-income families and adhere to environmental laws to qualify.

With a backlog of unapproved housing plans in many municipalities, developers have seized the opportunity to propose projects that cities would otherwise reject. This has led to a surge in builder’s remedy applications, particularly in Southern California and the Bay Area.

While some cities are accommodating these applications, others are resisting, leading to legal disputes. Cities like La Cañada Flintridge and Los Angeles have argued that their housing plans were compliant with state law before certification, but developers claim otherwise.

Recent court rulings have sided with developers in several cases, ordering cities to process builder’s remedy applications. The decisions have implications for ongoing litigation and may influence future applications in other cities.

As the legal battles continue, proposed bills in Sacramento aim to clarify and regulate the builder’s remedy law. Land-use attorneys emphasize that it is still early to predict the outcomes of these lawsuits, but the rulings could have far-reaching effects on the development landscape in California.