Yes In My Back Yard v. City of Culver City
| Docket Number | B321477,B325606 |
| Decision Date | 27 October 2023 |
| Parties | YES IN MY BACK YARD et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. CITY OF CULVER CITY et al., Defendants and Appellants. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
APPEAL from a judgment and order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County No. 20STCV43253, Mary H. Strobel, Judge. Affirmed.
Aleshire & Wynder, June S. Ailin and Pam K. Lee for Defendants and Appellants.
Patterson & O'Neill, Ryan J. Patterson and Brian O'Neill for Plaintiffs and Respondents.
The Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (the Act), codified at Government Code section 66300 et seq.,[1] is among the measures that the California Legislature has adopted to address the state's housing shortage. Subdivision (b)(1)(A) of section 66300 prohibits affected cities from (1) enacting any policy that changes the zoning of parcels to "a less intensive use" or (2) "reducing the intensity of land use" within a zoning district to below what was allowed under zoning ordinances in effect on January 1, 2018. In July 2020, defendants City of Culver City and the City Council of the City of Culver City (City Council) (collectively, the City) adopted Ordinance No. 2020-010 (the Ordinance), which amended the City's zoning code, changing development standards in its single-family residential, or R-1, zone. Among other changes, the Ordinance reduced the allowable floor area ratio (FAR) for primary residences from .60 to .45, decreasing the square footage of a house that could be built on a lot. Plaintiffs Yes In My Back Yard and Sonja Trauss (Trauss) (collectively, YIMBY) filed a petition for writ of mandate seeking an order declaring the Ordinance void. Following a hearing on the petition, the trial court determined the Ordinance violated section 66300 because the FAR reduction impermissibly reduced the intensity of land use. We affirm the judgment.
Additionally the City appeals from a post-judgment order awarding YIMBY attorney fees pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. The City contends that even if the judgment is affirmed, the fee award was not warranted because it is questionable whether the judgment benefits a significant segment of the public. Further, the City asserts the court considered improper factors in applying a multiplier to the lodestar amount. We disagree and affirm the fee award.
In July 2017, the City retained John Kaliski Architects (JKA) to study how to address community concerns regarding "mansionization" in its R-1 neighborhoods. Based on input from residents, JKA recommended amendments to the City's R-1 development standards that would reduce the square footage of a house that could be built on a lot. This included changing the FAR from .60 to .45 for lots of less than 10,000 square feet and to .35 for lots of 10,000 square feet or more. In developing its draft recommendations, JKA defined FAR as ratio of floor area to total lot area.
A joint study session with the City Council and Planning Commission took place in May 2019, where JKA's survey findings were presented, which included the opinion that "[h]ouses that maximize the existing zoning envelope and allowable [FAR] are consistently disliked across all neighborhoods." It was noted that the draft recommendations' goal was to "[p]romote neighborhood compatibility by maintaining the existing character and scale of Culver City's single-family residential neighborhoods." The staff report for the joint study session also noted that the City Council and Planning Commission needed to consider how accessory structures, such as additional dwelling units (ADUs), contributed to lot coverage and FAR.
In January 2020, City staff presented revised recommendations from JKA to the City's Planning Commission for amendments to R-1 development standards. The recommendations included reducing the FAR in R-1 zoned neighborhoods from .60 to .45 for all lot sizes. The City staff report for the meeting stated, "The intent of the proposed FAR reduction [was] to reduce bulk and mass of new structures as a part of overall allowable square footage." After noting that state laws removed local governments' ability to count ADUs' square footage towards allowable FAR, the staff report indicated the "original intent of the recommended FAR [was undermined]," so although a FAR reduction of .50 had previously been discussed, City staff was recommending a FAR reduction to .45. In other words, the recommendation was to reduce FAR from .50 to .45 to account for the fact that ADUs could not be included in calculating FAR. The City's Planning Commission, however, recommended FAR be reduced to .50, instead of the staff's proposed .45.
The City Council held a public hearing on the Planning Commission's recommendation in May 2020 and introduced the Ordinance. The Draft of the Ordinance read, The City's Planning Manager explained that "[t]he driving force behind [the proposed changes was] residents' concerns of the size and scale of new construction."
While addressing whether the FAR should be reduced to .50 or .45, one Councilmember explained that the difference between a .50 and .45 FAR is about 250 to 270 square feet, which the Councilmember described as "one extra bedroom." Another Councilmember said that the change from .50 to .45 had to do with "the fact that ADUs will not count towards FAR," so some ground was lost "in terms of the original goals of the mansionization ordinance." The City Council decided to set the FAR at .45 and to adopt the other changes recommended by the Planning Commission.
After the Ordinance was introduced, YIMBY submitted a letter commenting on it. YIMBY expressed "that the recently approved reduction in [FAR] and setback modifications, . . . before the City Council on the consent calendar, violate[d] the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Gov Code § 66300)." Among other things, the letter asserted, "[T]he reduction in permitted [FAR] from .60 to .45 would clearly reduce the intensity of residential use in the affected zones." YIMBY further communicated, "Lower FAR and excessive setbacks result in smaller homes with fewer bedrooms, limit options for ADU placement, and disincentivize development."
At a City Council meeting in June 2020, adoption of the Ordinance was postponed to allow City staff time to consult with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (the Department of Housing) and to contact Trauss. The City's Planning Manager emailed the Department of Housing, seeking guidance about how the Act affected the Ordinance. In response, the Department of Housing wrote that the Act "ta[lk]s about intensity of uses," and that the Ordinance could impact the number of bedrooms that could be built, which "might trigger the less intensive use provision." The Department of Housing did not take a formal position on whether the Ordinance violated the Act.
The City Council voted unanimously to approve the Ordinance in July 2020. The staff report for the City Council meeting claimed that the Ordinance was consistent with the Act since it facilitated construction of ADUs and Junior ADUs (JADUs), did not reduce the number of units that could be built on a lot, and did not decrease the total square footage allowed on a lot.
After the Ordinance was adopted, YIMBY filed a petition for writ of mandate, prohibition, or other extraordinary relief; complaint for declaratory relief; and request for immediate stay against the City. YIMBY alleged that the City violated section 66300's "explicit prohibition against 'reducing the intensity of land use' by enacting an ordinance that reduces '[FAR],'" and that the Ordinance resulted in a reduction of up to three million square feet of residential capacity within the City. The petition sought an order directing the City to refrain from enforcing the Ordinance and declaring it void.
The trial court held a hearing on the petition for writ of mandate and ruled that the Ordinance violated section 66300.
The court found that the Act was clear and unambiguous and generally prohibited reductions in FAR. The court rejected the City's argument that the Act applied only to changes that lower density, finding that the statutory language demonstrated the Legislature intended for section 66300 to cast a wide net to prohibit any standard that could lessen the intensity of housing. In addition, the court found the Ordinance did, in fact, reduce FAR within the City, and that YIMBY proved that the preOrdinance .60 FAR did not preclude development of ADUs or JADUs in the R-1 zone, which the City did not rebut. Judgment was entered in YIMBY's favor, and the court issued a peremptory writ of mandate ordering the City to repeal the Ordinance in its entirety.[2]
Following post-judgment briefing, YIMBY was awarded $131,813.58 in attorney fees pursuant to the private attorney general fee statute, Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. This was based on a lodestar amount of $90,405 for work performed on the merits of the case, $9,310 for work on the motion for attorney fees, and $9,497.33 for work performed after the...
To continue reading
Request your trial