Earlier this month, the city of Santa Monica was hit with a tsunami. The city failed to submit a state-approved housing plan on time, opening a rare building opportunity that developers raced to capitalize on.
Under state law, developers in cities whose housing plans fall out of state compliance can turn to filing so-called “builder’s remedy” projects that do not require the usual consent of municipal councils or planning commissions.
In other words, they, in theory, get an automatic greenlight — just as long as 20 percent of the units in a proposed project are classified as affordable.
On the latest episode of The Real Deal’s podcast “Deconstruct,” reporters Trevor Bach and Isabella Farr discuss what led up to this point and the extent to which other cities could face similar repercussions.
In addition to Santa Monica, builder’s remedy projects have recently been filed Beverly Hills and Redondo Beach. More are expected on the horizon.
More than 120 jurisdictions in Southern California have housing plans that have yet to be approved by the state, meaning they’re not in compliance with state law and at risk of seeing a deluge of filings they’ll have little recourse to block.
Tune in for the full conversation, and subscribe for new episodes of “Deconstruct” every Monday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible or wherever you prefer to listen.
This episode was brought to you by Dottid.