Huntington Beach Not Backing Down in Builder’s Remedy Battle

Anyone who thought the final nail had been hammered in the dispute between cities and the state over builder’s remedy might want to think again.

Let’s revisit the latest in the saga involving Huntington Beach, starting with the observation that there was some presumptive PR at play when Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a joint declaration of “victory” on Thursday. The win they claimed came when the California Supreme Court declined to review a lower-court decision on whether charter city status could be a loophole in challenges to builder’s remedy.

The lower court waived off any such special status. It more specifically put legal clamps on Huntington Beach’s fight against state law requiring local jurisdictions to create a “housing element” as a plan to meet mandated levels of housing production.

Sure, there was room for the governor and AG to claim a win in the latest legal round — but Huntington Beach still has a hand to play

In a lawsuit separate from the state’s, Huntington Beach headed to U.S. District Court to challenge the housing mandates based on their constitutionality. Charter cities — such as Huntington Beach, Los Angeles and San Francisco — are called that for a reason. They have charters that function as municipal constitutions of sorts. In some cases, a charter can shield a city from state regulation. Election laws and prevailing wage are areas where courts have found the city charter and ordinances to have the final say on a local matter.

Huntington Beach’s federal lawsuit is now at the U.S. Supreme Court, where a petition from the city seeks a review of lower-court rulings.

That’s partly what allowed the city to waive off the state-level denial for review Newsom and Bonta touted as a win.

“The city will continue to vigorously defend its environmental stewardship, its charter-city authority and its right to fair and evenhanded enforcement of state housing laws in the superior court,” Huntington Beach said in a statement Thursday.

What’s CEQA got to do with it?

A lot, actually.

If one looks at how Huntington Beach is arguing its case legally, the California Environmental Quality Act has plenty to do with the city’s legal posturing.

When CEQA went into effect in 1970, it set into motion a series of rules that have been pieced together over the decades, leaving the mess of interpretation and enforcement up to local government.

Huntington Beach asserts that the housing element puts it in a precarious situation with CEQA. That, the city said, opens it up to “penalties unless it adopts a housing element, even though CEQA prohibits adoption until environmental review is completed and lawful findings can be made.”

Ultimately, the question of how builder’s remedy plays with existing state regulations is only just getting started.

Lawsuit seeks no change on SB 9

Newsom’s carveout from a law allowing for split lots to build more density in Los Angeles’ burn areas is also facing a legal challenge now that YIMBY Law has filed suit against Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County, along with the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena and Malibu.

The challenge comes to Senate Bill 9, which went into effect at the start of 2022, allows owners to split single-family lots for the purpose of building another home or adding an accessory dwelling unit.

The housing advocacy group contends that suspending SB 9 will make the rebuilding process harder on property owners who might need to sell a portion of their lot or use part of their property for generating rental income.

Turnover and retention

Sotheby’s International Realty landed a big get when the Walters | Plaxen Group announced it was parting ways with the Beverly Hills Estates this past week.

The seven-person group is led by Nicole Plaxen and Shauna Walters, with the two closing over $1 billion in career sales.

The change of scenery comes after former Beverly Hills Estates broker of record and general manager Matthew Clayman left to lead Coldwell Banker Realty’s Beverly Hills and Hancock Park offices. Clayman recently recruited Severin Braham, former director of operations for the Williams and Williams Estates Group at the Beverly Hills Estates.

Other departures from the brokerage include Shana and Emila Tavangarian, the daughters of luxury spec developer Ardie Tavangarian, who left for Carolwood Estates; Mick Partridge, who also left for Carolwood; and Greg LaPlant, who is also now with Coldwell Banker, per Department of Real Estate records.