Yimby Group Threatens Suit Over Newsom's Duplex Ban In La Wildfire Recovery

Gov. Gavin Newsom quelled a rebellion among Pacific Palisades homeowners over the summer when he blocked the building of duplexes in the wildfire-scarred community.

Now, he’s facing the squeeze from pro-development forces.

YIMBY Law, a San Francisco-based organization that sues public agencies to clear the way for more housing, is threatening to take Newsom to court over an executive order he signed in July essentially banning duplex construction in the Palisades and other Los Angeles neighborhoods affected by January’s fires.

In last-minute talks with high-level staffers in Newsom’s office Friday, the group agreed to not file its lawsuit if the governor’s office issues a new order restoring property owners’ ability to build duplexes a year from now, said Sonja Trauss, YIMBY Law’s executive director.

“We asked for this and we’re waiting for them to respond,” Trauss said.

Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for the governor, said she was “unable to confirm” whether Newsom was considering changes to his duplex order.

No matter what the governor does, the potential lawsuit, a draft of which POLITICO reviewed, has reinvigorated a battle over the shape of rebuilding in Los Angeles where 13,000 homes were lost in this year’s blazes. Traci Park, the city councilmember who represents the Palisades, said the neighborhood will continue to resist the developments.

“After what this community just lived through, the idea of forcing more density into a high-fire-severity zone demonstrates this isn’t about sound housing policy, but ideological extremism,” Park said in a statement to POLITICO. “Threats of lawsuits are absolutely tone-deaf to the reality on the ground.”

At issue is Senate Bill 9, a high-profile 2021 state law that effectively ended prohibitions against building multiple units on land zoned only for single-family homes, which is most of the residential property in California. Under SB 9, property owners can build duplexes on single-family parcels and divide their lots and build on both.

When applications for SB 9 projects in the Palisades began trickling in over the summer, residents quickly sounded the alarm. They worried both that a proliferation of duplexes would undermine the character of the community, which was dominated by single-family homes before the fires, and that the additional density would make the Palisades more dangerous. On Jan. 7, chaos amid the flames led fleeing residents to abandon their cars along the main evacuation route and escape on foot, forcing bulldozers to clear the road for emergency responders.

Park pleaded with Newsom to act.

“When SB 9 was adopted into state law, it was never intended to capitalize on a horrific disaster,” Park wrote in a letter to the governor.

Newsom agreed that widespread use of SB 9 could make evacuations harder in future disasters. He issued the executive order to allow local governments to suspend the law in areas at highest risk of fire. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass immediately seized on the newly granted authority, issuing an order of her own to stop future SB 9 projects throughout Pacific Palisades. Leaders in Malibu and Pasadena followed suit, as did L.A. County officials in the limited areas where the order applied in Altadena since most of the community is not officially designated as a very high fire severity zone.

Newsom’s decision to side with homeowners ran counter to other efforts he’s made during his gubernatorial tenure to expedite housing construction and promote denser development. Weeks before signing the order, the governor muscled historic changes to California’s landmark environmental law through the Legislature to spur more construction in cities.

In this instance, YIMBY Law plans to allege if it goes ahead with its lawsuit, Newsom capitulated to “communities with deepest pockets and loudest voices.” The group contends the executive order exceeded emergency powers granted to the governor and encroached on the authority of the state Legislature, which as part of SB 9 allowed duplexes in fire zones subject to additional safety standards, according to a draft of the complaint reviewed by POLITICO.

Banning SB 9 development “has nothing to do with mitigating the effects of an existing emergency, but instead represents a policy choice regarding where SB 9 projects should be permitted due to potential for future fires,” the draft complaint reads. “The Legislature has already decided that question.”

The group argues that some victims of the January wildfires may need the flexibility SB 9 offers to return to their communities. Andrew Post, a 36-year-old attorney and software developer, is managing the rebuilding of the home his parents lost to the Eaton fire in Altadena. Post said that with limited income in retirement and a modest insurance payout, his parents are designing their new home to fit on half their lot to be able to sell off the other half if they need the money to afford the rebuild or for long-term medical care as their health declines.

“There’s a great many scenarios where my parents would never set foot again in Altadena if not for SB 9,” Post said.

Though SB 9 is still in effect in their part of Altadena, Post said Newsom’s order created uncertainty about the law’s future there and his family’s experience shows that it’s beneficial to fire survivors.

Sue Kohl, president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council said the Palisades context is different. She said lots are too small and roads are too narrow and windy to accommodate more housing, as shown by the grim evacuation in January. Kohl said developers, not wildfire survivors, were the ones pushing for duplex construction in the community.

“Over the past 11 months, I’ve been to endless meetings,” Kohl said. “I’m not saying there’s not anyone out there who wouldn’t want to do that. But I’ve never heard of one.”

She urged the governor to reject anything that would allow SB 9 projects for the foreseeable future.

“Anyone coming to the Palisades with the idea of increasing density whether it’s low-income housing, high-income housing, whatever it is, we will be vehemently opposed without question,” Kohl said.

Trauss said her group plans to file its suit on Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court if the governor doesn’t act first.

Since its founding in 2019, YIMBY Law has frequently targeted Los Angeles in its housing litigation. The group emerged victorious last year in cases against the city for its denial of low-income housing in single-family-home neighborhoods.