An Obscure Law's Rise to Prominence in Calif. Housing Crisis
West Coast Land Use and Environment attorney Ryan Leaderman was featured prominently in a Law360 article about the builder's remedy, a provision in California state housing law under which cities that do not have a compliant housing element cannot deny development applications for projects with at least 20 percent affordable units, regardless of whether the projects meet other local zoning requirements. Added to the state's Housing Accountability Act (HAA) in 1990, the provision remained largely unused until 2022, when Cedar Street Partners invoked it while submitting plans for a mixed-used development at 600 Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada, a suburb of Los Angeles. La Cañada rejected the application and denied subsequent appeals, which eventually prompted the developer to sue the city alleging violations of state affordable housing laws including the HAA Mr. Leaderman and fellow West Coast land use attorneys Kevin Ashe and Will Sterling participated in the case, representing the developer entity 600 Foothill Owner LP, an affiliate of Cedar Street Partners.
In March 2024, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued a judgment in favor of the petitioners on several points, such as rejecting the city's argument that its initial finding that the application was incomplete did not amount to disapproval and therefore did not violate builder's remedy. La Cañada appealed, but after another Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled the city would have to post a $14 million bond to continue, it moved to dismiss. Mr. Leaderman commented on the significance of the case, noting the uncertainty surrounding builder's remedy heading into litigation.
"Not a precedent, but it really gave the road map for jurisdictions that they were at serious legal jeopardy if they would deny or not process a project that qualified for builder's remedy," he said.
In another positive move for developers, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued on June 5, 2025, a legal alert reminding local governments of their responsibility to facilitate affordable housing and citing cases such as the one in La Cañada. Mr. Leaderman said Bonta's involvement, coupled with the La Cañada outcome, will be helpful as builder's remedy activity heats up; he is currently handling nine such projects and has filed for litigation in three of them.
"It is a very, very important tool, and the La Cañada case is really important, because it blows a hole in the city's defenses that have been so successful in blocking housing for decades," he said.
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