PRESS RELEASE: YIMBY Law Wins Appeal in Culver City, City Repeals Illegal Ordinance That Downzoned Residential Land
/Media contact: Jessamyn Garner
Los Angeles, CA —YIMBY Law has prevailed against Culver City, CA, in the California Court of Appeal. On January 22, the city repealed its illegal ordinance that down-zoned its single-family-only neighborhoods. This violated The Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (HCA), codified in Government Code section 66300, by reducing the residential capacity of the land by approximately three million square feet. It made it more difficult for multigenerational families to live in the city and to convert large single-family homes into small apartment buildings. The appellate court decision also sets a legal precedent to ensure other cities cannot attempt similar actions.
YIMBY Law sued in response to an ordinance passed by the Culver City Council on July 13, 2020. The ordinance reduced the allowable square footage in single-family homes and made other changes to restrict the amount of housing that could be built in the city. Based on the city’s own data, the illegal ordinance would have reduced the size of residential buildings in single-family zones by 750 square feet—the size of a 2-bedroom apartment. According to city documents, these changes were made to “promote neighborhood compatibility by maintaining the existing character and scale of Culver City’s single-family residential neighborhoods.” Nevertheless, the city spuriously argued after the fact that the ordinance was intended to “open up property owners’ minds to including an ADU or JADU on their property.” The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding that “the City does not show the ordinance would facilitate the development of housing, when its goal is to lower the living space within a house.” Because of a combination of state ADU law and this win, single-family zones in Culver City can now allow up to 4 homes per 5000-square-foot lot.
The Superior Court judge ruled in YIMBY Law’s favor on February 22, 2022, and issued her judgment on May 26, 2022. The City filed an appeal on April 20, 2023, and the Second District Court of Appeal’s favorable decision was released on October 27, 2023. On January 22, 2024, the City repealed its illegal ordinance.
This result in the appellate court affirms the original ruling in this case and sets a precedent for future cases across the state. This will discourage other cities from passing similar down-zoning ordinances and facilitate the creation of more housing. The appellate court upheld the award of legal fees to YIMBY from Culver City, plus a multiplier.
“Following the arrival of our third child in 2021, my family began a search for a home in northeastern Culver City, aiming to be closer to Echo Horizon - a specialized school tailored for DHH (deaf or hard-of-hearing) children like our two daughters,” said Nate Whitaker, 7-year resident of Culver City, research analyst, husband, and father of 3 kids. “While we anticipated it would be tough finding a place that could fit all six of us, we were dismayed to discover that Culver City's 2020 FAR reduction exacerbated the situation. This policy change ultimately resulted in a decrease in the number of bedrooms going into new homes, directly impacting larger families and multi-generational families such as ours. We place our trust in our governments to formulate policies that alleviate these burdens by facilitating an increase in housing supply, rather than impeding it. We are sincerely grateful for the efforts of YIMBY in their work to reverse Culver City's destructive and illegal policy change.”
YIMBY Law, along with YIMBY Action members and over 600 volunteer watchdogs, will continue to monitor city behavior to ensure pro-housing laws are implemented and enforced.
“It’s ridiculous that Culver City wasted so much taxpayer money and staff time to defend their illegal ordinance,” said Sonja Trauss, Executive Director of YIMBY Law. “I’m glad they’ll be forced to follow the law now—these obstructionist behaviors only hurt their current and future residents.”