122 Southern California Cities Fail to Comply with State Housing Laws

Contact: Jae Garner

As of February 24, 2022, at least 122 Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) municipalities are out of compliance with the statutory requirements of State Housing Element Law, according to data released by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). “This is sobering news, said Rafa Sonnenfeld, Director of Legal Advocacy at YIMBY Law, “state housing policy and its goal of addressing California’s severe housing shortage, rests on the effective implementation of local general plans and, in particular, local housing elements. Not complying with California’s state housing laws means that the basic and urgent need of all citizens to have access to affordable housing is still not being met.”

With YIMBY support, California’s housing law was amended recently to provide stronger compliance measures for local jurisdictions. These include AB 72 & AB 1397 (2017) and AB 215 (2021) that mandate new provisions for housing elements and serious consequences for non-compliance. 

Under the state’s Housing Element Law, housing elements in the SCAG region were due to be received for HCD review by October 15, 2021. 

• Out of the 197 jurisdictions in SCAG, 122 cities are out of compliance for not having submitted a legal Housing Element to HCD by the deadline 

• An additional 69 jurisdictions have submitted a Housing Element that is still under review by the state 

• Only six jurisdictions in SCAG have adopted housing elements the state has found to be compliant 

HCD has informed cities of their particular areas of non-compliance. These range from failing to identify affordable housing sites, to failing to adequately plan to affirmatively further fair housing and reduce barriers to areas of opportunity. YIMBY Law commends HCD for its thorough review process and for providing assistance to jurisdictions to support compliance.

Jurisdictions that fail to adopt compliant housing elements within 120 days of the statutory deadline must complete all necessary rezones within one year. This means that dozens of SCAG cities will be under pressure to rezone for their legally-required housing by October 15, 2022, and could face lawsuits from the state, housing organizations, or developers seeking to get projects approved. “By not complying, cities are in essence handing their land-use control over to the state and risk being sued. YIMBY Law is willing to sue if necessary to ensure compliance,” according to Sonnenfeld. 

Jurisdictions could lose access to billions of dollars in affordable housing grants due to lack of compliance. Housing element compliance is also important for local government eligibility for critical federal, state, and regional funding for infrastructure and transit projects. 

SCAG’s high level of non-compliance contrasts sharply with compliance by other jurisdictions throughout the state. In a rolling cycle of review deadlines, HCD has already reviewed housing elements in several regions throughout California including SCAG, Sacramento (SACOG), and San Diego (SANDOG). Overall, SACOG and SANDOG which have been reviewed under new housing law requirements, are over 50% compliant whereas just 3% of SCAG jurisdictions have received a notification of compliance by HCD. 

“Other jurisdictions throughout California have been able to adapt and comply with the new statutory requirements,” according to Sonnenfeld. “We’ve already seen that this is doable when and where there is a will. The State of California is doing its part by providing jurisdictions with resources, information, and technical assistance. Southern Californians deserve for SCAG cities to step up, get help if necessary to follow the law, and increase the housing supply.”

The deadline for Bay Area housing element submission and review is coming up on January 31, 2023, which means most Bay Area cities should be planning on submitting Housing Elements to HCD by the fall. 

YIMBY urges jurisdictions in need of compliance support to contact HCD.  HCD provides on-site technical assistance to help cities develop and implement their housing elements and online resources, including: Building Blocks: A Comprehensive Housing-Element Guide, HCD Memos, HCD Housing Planning HUB. 

YIMBY will be working to ensure increased compliance through the Campaign for Fair Housing Elements.

Press Release: YIMBY Law Sues San Francisco and Los Angeles for Violating California Housing Laws

Contact: Jae Garner

SAN FRANCISCO, CA –YIMBY Law, the legal arm of YIMBY Action, a leading pro-housing advocacy organization in the “Yes In My Backyard” movement filed a lawsuit today against the City and County of San Francisco for violation of CEQA, the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB-330), and the Permit Streamlining Act (PSA). The lawsuit asserts that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors illegally overturned the 495-unit,“469 Stevenson Project” after four years of planning and approval by the San Francisco Planning Department, based on vague claims of “inadequate analysis” in the CEQA review rather than on documented findings as required by law. 

“YIMBY Law is determined to see that local jurisdictions implement the laws we worked so hard to help pass,” said Sonja Trauss, Executive Director of YIMBY Law, “today’s filing is the third in a series against San Francisco and Los Angeles. It’s time for accountability; there will be more to come if cities don’t comply.”

YIMBY Law filed a similar suit against San Francisco in December, 2021 after the Board of Supervisors denied a 316-room group housing project located at 450 O'Farrell, which could have housed as many as 632 people in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. YIMBY Law also filed suit in November, 2021 against the City of Los Angeles for illegally thwarting a 67-unit apartment building development in the Canoga Park/Woodland Hills area.

These three housing projects would account for 878 homes, including 173 affordable to households making below the median income, at a time when California is falling well short of the approximately 180,000 new homes needed annually to match population growth. According to the state Department of Housing and Community Development, California’s new housing growth is averaging fewer than 80,000 homes each year.

California’s severe housing shortage is driven in part, because cities historically have not complied with existing state housing laws. Housing projects are often derailed when zoning measures in specific areas contradict a city’s general plan or local politicians deny projects arbitrarily. Legislation passed in recent years includes measures to address these issues with additional oversight. According to Ben Metcalf, Managing Director, Terner Center for Housing Innovation and former Director, California Housing and Community Development Department, “Over the last several years, a series of new state laws have made clear that local governments have to facilitate new housing supply or face the consequences. This comes into stark relief when proposed housing projects that line up with a local government's zoning and existing land use plans face unnecessary delays or denials." 

YIMBY Law is suing cities that continue to deny general plan compliant projects. Cities are  applying erroneous compliance determinations that are at odds with state law. Under the HAA, the  Los Angeles project — which is consistent with the city’s general plan — should not have been denied due to a rezoning requirement. San Francisco’s 450 O'Farrell project denial also is inconsistent with HAA requirements to approve projects that meet objective zoning and general plan standards. Today’s lawsuit against San Francisco challenges whether cities can effectively evade the HAA through project denials under the guise of environmental impact claims.  

The YIMBY lawsuits come at a time when cities also are under increased scrutiny by the state of California and its new Housing Accountability Unit at the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). HCD was established recently to ensure local compliance with state laws to address California’s severe housing shortage and has expressed its own concerns about the two San Francisco project denials. 

According to Laura Foote, Executive Director of YIMBY Action which fought for the new housing legislation and oversight, “It is unconscionable that two of California’s major cities are illegally impeding these new housing opportunities at a time when our state’s housing shortage is at epic proportions. Now more than ever, cities need to be working with the state to adequately address the growing numbers of Californians experiencing homelessness and the damage our housing shortage is causing for the people of California.”

A copy of the filing petition for today’s lawsuit is available here.