C.A.R.-backed group sues three California cities over efforts to limit housing near transit

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Californians for Homeownership, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (C.A.R.) that aims to address California's housing crisis through impact litigation, today announced that it has filed lawsuits against the cities of San Diego, San Francisco, and Montebello for attempting to limit the reach of a new state law facilitating housing development near transit.

"Cities throughout California must play by the same set of rules established by our Legislature for the development of housing," said C.A.R. President Tamara Suminski, a Southern California broker and REALTOR^®. "Through these new lawsuits, Californians for Homeownership continues to play a vital role in addressing housing affordability through impact litigation."

The lawsuits seek to enforce provisions of Senate Bill 79, a 2025 bill that enables the development of housing near major public transit, such as metro and commuter rail. Under the law, housing developments that meet certain criteria are allowed on sites zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial uses within one-half or one-quarter mile of a qualifying station. Cities can delay the law's effect in certain areas, and can exclude other sites altogether, but only if they adopt valid local implementation ordinances.

"The Legislature has included strong local control provisions in this law, allowing cities to adjust the state policy to better fit the needs of their communities," said Matthew Gelfand, the in-house litigator for the nonprofit. "We are committed to ensuring that cities strictly comply with these provisions in adopting local transit-oriented development policies."

In addition to Californians for Homeownership, the nonprofit California Housing Defense Fund (CalHDF) is a plaintiff in all three lawsuits, and nonprofit YIMBY Law has joined the lawsuit against San Francisco.

The lawsuit against San Diego challenges the city's use of a "walking path" exemption in state law to exclude a broad range of sites, including sites within blocks of San Diego Trolley stations, based on small gaps in sidewalks or the need to walk along multi-use alleyways. State law does not allow cities to use their own failure to provide or maintain sidewalks as a basis for limiting transit-oriented development. San Diego's planning staff have also published inconsistent and erroneous maps, leading to uncertainty for developers, and the litigation challenges those maps as well. The lawsuit is Californians for Homeownership et al. v. City of San Diego, San Diego County Superior Court Case No. 26CU043967C. 

The lawsuit against San Francisco challenges the city's exclusion of areas that it has improperly designated "industrial employment hubs." The areas identified by the city violate several of the state law standards for excludable employment areas. The city is also unlawfully restricting the use of the State Density Bonus Law, a crucial state law tool for housing production. The lawsuit is California Housing Defense Fund et al. v. City and County of San Francisco et al., San Francisco County Superior Court Case No. CPF-26-520062. 

The lawsuit against Montebello challenges a complete moratorium on developments under the new state transit-oriented development law. The city's ordinance violates several state laws, including the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, which banned moratoriums on housing. The lawsuit is Californians for Homeownership et al. v. City of Montebello, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. 26STCP02862. 

Filings in all three cases are available on request.

In addition to these lawsuits, Californians for Homeownership is engaged in pre-litigation discussions with cities throughout the state. While some of these discussions are expected to end in litigation, others have proved productive. For example, the nonprofit recently entered into a tolling agreement with the city of Burlingame, allowing the city to have its policy reviewed by state regulators before any litigation is filed. Similar agreements are expected with other cities in the coming weeks.

Californians for Homeownership is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization sponsored by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® devoted to using legal tools to address California's housing crisis. For too long, California's cities have treated compliance with state and federal housing law as optional. The organization seeks to change that attitude by proactively enforcing the law, on behalf of the important public interest in having additional housing available to families at all income levels. Californians for Homeownership was established by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (C.A.R.), and it receives financial support from C.A.R. and private donors. To make a tax-deductible charitable contribution today, visit caforhomes.org.

SOURCE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)