Judge rules LA broke state law by blocking affordable housing in the San Fernando Valley

The city of Los Angeles violated state law when it blocked the approval of a seven-story affordable apartment building in the San Fernando Valley, according to a ruling on Thursday from a county judge.

The case has pitted housing advocates seeking faster approvals across the city against local officials who want to keep low-income apartments away from areas reserved for single-family homes.

In a key decision, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant largely sided with the plaintiffs. He said in this case, the city used later regulatory changes to retroactively deny the project, a reversal that broke state and local laws.

“The city's attempt to require the project to comply with policies not in effect when the preliminary application was submitted is a violation of the [Housing Accountability Act],” Chalfant wrote in a tentative ruling that was upheld in Thursday’s court hearing. He added that he would order the city to “set aside its disapproval of the project application.”

How this case ended up in court

This dispute revolves around Executive Directive One (ED1), the signature affordable housing program Mayor Karen Bass signed during her first week in office. Developers quickly flocked to the program, which promised speedy application and permit approvals within about two months in exchange for agreements to keep units affordable to low and middle-income renters.

So far, the program has approved more than 15,000 units of affordable housing.

In March 2023, a developer submitted plans to build 360 low- and moderate-income apartments in Winnetka through ED1. However, the city ended up putting the Winnetka development and a handful of other projects on ice after Bass changed ED1 to ban expedited affordable housing approvals in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes.

Housing advocates saw the city’s move as a bait-and-switch. So at the start of 2024, they sued.

Pro-housing group applauds judge’s decision

Angela Tiangco — an attorney with YIMBY Law, the group that sued over the Winnetka project’s denial — said the city’s legal team failed to convince the judge that ED1 was never intended to apply in single-family zones.

“It's great to hear that the judge sees it the way that we have,” Tiangco said. “The rights and rules that are in place when a project is submitted should be what a project is examined under.”

L.A. City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents the neighborhood where the Winnetka project is located, said he respects the court’s decision but his position has not changed.

“Large scale apartments should not be wedged in-between single family homes by right," he said in emailed statement to LAist, "especially when there is no guarantee from developers that any mitigation efforts like new traffic lights or improved sidewalks will follow such construction."

LAist also asked the mayor’s office for reaction, and they have not yet responded.

Other projects still face an uncertain future

Dave Rand, the land use attorney for the Winnetka project, said some developers behind other ED1 proposals in single-family zones have already given up on pushing the issue. But he believes this ruling means that the 360 units on Winnetka Avenue will soon get built.

“The ability for housing developers to rely on the rules that are in place when they file an application, and be granted an assurance that those rules aren't going to change right out from under them, is hugely meaningful,” Rand said.

More than 1,400 units of affordable housing were caught in limbo after L.A. changed ED1 to exclude projects in single-family zones. The city has already approved one of those projects in Sherman Oaks. Another project in Reseda Ranch is the subject of a separate ongoing lawsuit.

Following the restrictions in single-family zones, Bass further limited where affordable housing can be fast-tracked by banning ED1 projects in designated historic zones and on certain properties that already contain rent-controlled apartments.