Builder’s Remedy immune? State certifies revised Redondo Beach Housing Element
by Garth Meyer
Redondo Beach again has a newly certified, state-required housing plan, after the city sent in a revision following a court ruling last year which called the original plan into question.
The new “Housing Element” – designated areas where future housing could be built – was adjusted by the Redondo Beach planning department and approved by the city council earlier this month.
It was deemed compliant May 20 by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The state never officially undid the previous local Housing Element, which it approved in 2022.
In the same year, Leo Pustilnikov, co-owner of the closed AES power plant site in Redondo Beach, filed a lawsuit contending that California was wrong to certify Redondo’s Element.
Without it, the city could be exposed to “Builder’s Remedy” – a state law that allows local zoning to be bypassed by builders.
“The city is not subject to Builder’s Remedy with the newly certified Housing Element,” said Joy Abaquin-Ford, Redondo Beach city attorney.
The previous plan for new housing included what are known as overlays – areas that keep open the possibility of alternative development uses.
The latest plan has no overlays.
Instead, it increases density allowed on four of Redondo’s five designated new-housing sites, and eliminates a sixth. In addition, the current Housing Element states that new development on these sites requires 50% of its floor space be residential.
Last October, a court ruling faulted the city for failing to identify “realistic” locations for a sufficient number of new housing units to satisfy the Redondo allotment of 2,490 by 2029.
City Attorney Ford petitioned the California Supreme Court to review the decision but the court declined the request.
“The case has been remanded back to the trial court,” Ford said. “We are currently negotiating with Mr. Pustilnikov’s attorneys to resolve the case.”
The next eight-year Housing Element cycle begins in 2029, when each city across the state needs to submit a new list of places to build housing. ER