A nonprofit group sponsored by the California Association of Realtors (CAR) announced it was suing the City of Beverly Hills for rejecting an application to build a 165-unit mixed-used development.
The project’s proposed location is a vacant lot in an area surrounded by office buildings, retail centers, and high rises. Of the project’s 165 residential units, 33 would be reserved for lower-income households.
The lawsuit filed by Californians for Homeownership was brought under California’s Housing Accountability Act, which contains the “builder’s remedy” law that enables localities to be sued over housing denials. If the court determines that Beverly Hills acted in bad faith in rejecting the housing application, the court can order the project approved with no further hearing by the city.
“Californians for Homeownership continues to lead the way in enforcing state housing laws in the courts,” said CAR President Melanie Barker. “It is critical that cities like Beverly Hills do their part in addressing the state’s housing crisis, and this new case will help ensure that they do.”
Californians for Homeownership filed another lawsuit Beverly Hills last year that claimed the city developed an unrealistic housing element that shifted new housing development into commercial districts.
“We won our last case against Beverly Hills because the city’s housing plans were unreasonable and unlikely to produce affordable housing,” said Matthew Gelfand, the in-house litigator for the nonprofit. “Now, a developer has come forward with a real plan to build housing, including income-restricted affordable units, and the city said, ‘No.’ We had no choice but to return to court to address the city’s continued resistance to housing development.”
The city government did not publicly respond to the lawsuit.
Photo: LPETTET / iStock
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