ZF’s Clients Win Victory Against Culver City in Groundbreaking SB 330 Case

ZF’s clients YIMBY Law and its Executive Director, Sonja Trauss, recently defeated a Culver City ordinance that reduced the city’s residential development capacity by more than three million square feet – in the guise of encouraging the creation of accessory dwelling units. (Yes In My Back Yard, et al. vs City of Culver City, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. 20STCV43253.)

The case raised numerous questions of first impression that involved interpreting a recently enacted housing statute, SB 330 (the “Housing Crisis Act”), with no published case law, applying the statute in the context of a nuanced local ordinance, analyzing how that local ordinance impacts housing development across an entire city (including mathematical analysis), and interpreting and applying numerous statutory exemptions. A staff member at the California Department of Housing and Community Development with extensive expertise in interpreting state housing laws explained that the issue was “a hard question.”

The court ruled in the petitioners’ favor and struck down the anti-housing ordinance, stating that ZF’s attorneys had “argue[d] persuasively.” Culver City has appealed the judgment to the Court of Appeal, where ZF will continue to advocate vigorously on behalf of its clients.

Click here to read the judgment.