UPDATE #30 - Litigation Moves Ahead
Litigation Moves Forward on Silver Spur Canyon Project
After being in limbo for over six months, the lawsuit over the Silver Spur Canyon project is moving ahead. Later this month the judge will hold a case management conference where dates will be set for various steps within the litigation process. It is likely that the case will take more than 6 to 9 months to complete, but we will know more detail in a couple of weeks.
If you recall, the lawsuit is between the developer Jha and the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. The City holds that Jha does not have the right to use the “Builder’s Remedy“ law, that allows him to build a development that is basically unlimited in size and would have almost no restrictions on how it was constructed. Without the ability to use this law, this development cannot be built. The City denied Jha’s Builder’s Remedy application stating that Jha submitted his application after the city achieved substantial compliance with its housing element, closing the window for such applications.
We will publish the case schedule as soon as we get it.
Largest Builder’s Remedy Proposal in a Single-Family Residence Zone in California
A recent AI search regarding Builder’s Remedy projects in the state of California shows that the Silver Spur Canyon project, at 482 condominium units, is the biggest Builders Remedy project in the entire state of California proposed for a single-family residence lot. Nothing else even comes close. The next biggest project is 57 units in Santa Cruz. This demonstrates how dangerous the Builder’s Remedy law is to the tranquility of neighborhoods throughout California. Anyone’s investment in a home is at risk of being destroyed by profiteering developers who care nothing about the character of a neighborhood. The Builder’s Remedy law, which was intended to motivate cities to finish their housing elements on time, is a stick that’s just too big. It punishes individual citizens and their neighborhoods for processes they largely have no control over and often aren’t even aware are happening. These out-of-control developments can create permanent scars on the fabric of communities. We need more housing in California, but we shouldn’t be destroying our communities to do it.