California’s housing push braves a lion’s den of local NIMBY tactics

A mountain lion is a powerful animal. In Los Angeles, a state judge may have to decide if the big cat is powerful enough to stop a proposed housing addition to a 100-year-old country club and golf course. In August, L.A. city planners rejected a plan for 398 homes, including 97 for very-low-income households, on 20 acres at Woodland Hills Country Club. An ecologist had deemed the area habitat for the endangered Southern California mountain lion. This week, the California Department of Housing and Community Development sent a letter stating that the city violated a three-year-old law that established by-right approval of affordable housing on commercially zoned land. Lawmakers broadened the law’s scope last year to include underused commercial land and transit-oriented development. The episode illustrates how city officials and agencies exploit loopholes to stop or stall projects, even in a state leading zoning reform to spur housing construction. Lawmakers in California, Florida and other states have responded by tweaking their laws in a game of policy Whac-A-Mole. HCD’s letter marks the first step in a process that could lead to the club suing the city and seeking monetary damages...