C.A.R.-backed housing group prevails in another litigation victory for housing in Beverly Hills

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14, 2025 /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 secured a litigation victory against the city of Beverly Hills over its denial of an application to build a 165-unit mixed-use development in the city's urban core. This is the group's second victory against Beverly Hills, after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled in its favor in a lawsuit over the City's housing planning process in 2023.

"This decision is a major win for housing," said C.A.R. President Heather Ozur. "Cities are increasingly putting up illegal procedural hurdles for housing applications, from simple ADUs all the way up to large mixed-use projects. Today's decision makes it clear that cities must accept housing development applications and consider them on their merits and in compliance with state and local law." 

The project at issue in the case is a mixed-use development proposed for a vacant lot on Linden Drive, just south of the city's Golden Triangle area and surrounded by office buildings, retail centers, and high rises. Of the 165 residential units, 33 would be reserved for lower-income households. The project is one of several "builder's remedy" proposals in Beverly Hills, most of which seek to develop vacant or nearly vacant lots in existing high-density commercial corridors. The builder's remedy is a provision of state law that facilitates development in cities that have failed to adequately plan for housing such as Beverly Hills.

As state law has increasingly made it illegal for cities and counties to reject housing development projects, they have turned to alternative approaches to prevent the construction of new homes. In this case, Beverly Hills refused to acknowledge the completeness of the developer's application in an attempt to avoid having to make a formal decision on the project. These pretextual "incompleteness determinations" are an increasingly common tool used by cities to disguise housing denials and attempt to insulate their decisions against legal challenge. The city also illegally declared that aspects of the developer's application had expired.

The court's order vacates the city's decision on the project and orders the city to process the application as a builder's remedy project, in compliance with state law. The order resolves the first of four cases brought by Californians for Homeownership against the city over stymied builder's remedy projects.

"We are pleased with the court's decision, and we are hopeful that it will lead to a settlement covering the remaining builder's remedy projects in the city," said Matthew Gelfand, the in-house litigator for the nonprofit. "Beverly Hills should embrace these projects and work with the applicants to get these much-needed homes built."

The group's lawsuit was brought under California's Housing Accountability Act, which contains the builder's remedy law. Under the law, organizations such as Californians for Homeownership are entitled to sue in their own name to challenge housing denials. The court simultaneously issued a similar decision in a separate lawsuit brought by the project's applicant.

The case is Californians for Homeownership v. City of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. 24STCP02082. The court's decision is available on request.

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.)