La Cañada Flintridge violated affordable housing law, judge rules

The City of La Cañada Flintridge violated state housing standards by rejecting a mixed-use housing project in 2022, a Los Angeles County judge ruled. The judge found that the city’s housing plan did not abide by a builder’s remedy in the state Housing Accountability Act that would have allowed the project to proceed under state affordable housing guidelines.

“The court finds the city council prejudicially abused its discretion when it found in its May 1, 2023 decision that the builder’s remedy does not apply to the project,” Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff wrote in his ruling on Monday.

Plaintiff California Housing Defense Fund was represented by Lisa A. Ells and Alexander R. Gourse of Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP in San Francisco, as well as the fund’s executive director, Dylan S. Casey, and legal fellow Nicholas W. Eckenwiler.

In a phone call on Wednesday, Casey said the city’s housing plan violated state law by failing to further fair housing, overestimating the amount of housing that would be produced per site and failed to account for evidence that some sites were unlikely to be developed.

“Overall, it was not a serious housing plan,” Casey said. “The city rushed to enact it in order to avoid developments like the one proposed, and the state rejected it.”

The city was represented by Adrian R. Guerra, who acts as its city attorney, and Michelle L. Villarreal, both of Aleshire & Wynder LLP in Irvine. They were joined on the defense side by Peter C. Sheridan and Christopher L. Dacus of Glaser Weil in Los Angeles.

Counsel for the city did not respond to phoned and emailed requests for comment by press time.

The defense fund sued La Cañada Flintridge last year, claiming that it violated state law when if declined to approve an 80-unit, mixed-use housing project at 600 Foothill Boulevard. California Housing Defense Fund v. City of La Canada Flintridge, 23STCP02614 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed July 25, 2023).

In December, Gov. Gavin Newsome and Attorney General Rob Bonta successfully moved to intervene in the case.

In a concurrent news release, Bonta wrote, “The City of La Cañada Flintridge is legally required to process this affordable housing project under California’s builder’s remedy because they did not adopt a compliant housing element on time.”

In an answer filed in February, the city claimed its housing element, adopted in October 2022, was substantially compliant with state housing element law -- to the extent that the topography of the city would allow.

“CHDF more than any party misunderstands and mischaracterizes the basic geography, topography, and available land in the City that directly relate to the Housing Element, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (‘RHNA’), and the duty to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (‘AFFH’) in an attempt to find fault where there was none (again, CHDF’s apparent ignorance of the characteristics of the city are telling),” the answer read.

Beckloff disagreed in his ruling on Monday, finding that the city ‘s plan fell short of state requirements further fair housing requirements, failed include a nonvacant site analysis and failed to provide a realistic assessment of development capacity.

“The court will grant a writ directing respondents to set aside the city council’s decision, dated May 1, 2023, finding 600 Foothill’s application does not qualify as a Builder’s Remedy and to process the application in accordance with the HAA and state law,” Beckloff wrote.

Newsom praised Beckloff’s decision in a news release on Wednesday.

“La Cañada Flintridge is the latest community that has failed in their effort to override state housing laws,” Newsom said. “Today’s favorable ruling should serve as a warning to other NIMBY jurisdictions that the state will hold every community accountable in planning for their fair share of housing.”