Ruling: California cities risk a price to pay to delay housing permits

A California appeals court has opened a new path for homeowners to sue cities that stall backyard-home permits, potentially putting a price on missing the state’s 60-day approval deadline. The Second Appellate District ruled Oct. 23 that a Palos Verdes Estates homeowner can seek damages over an alleged three-year delay in approving his accessory dwelling unit, reversing a Los Angeles County judge who had dismissed the suit. Prior to the ruling, California’s ADU laws required ministerial approval but named no penalty for ignoring it. The court said that gap doesn’t matter. A section in the state’s Government Claims Act, a 1963 law, makes agencies liable when they breach a mandatory duty meant to prevent a particular injury. Chris Elmendorf, a University of California, Davis, law professor, said the logic could reach well beyond ADUs. “This is a huge decision because numerous other [California] housing laws create similar ministerial duties to issue permits,” he wrote on social media. He listed Senate Bill 35, SB 423, Assembly Bill 2011, SB 684 and SB 1123. Those laws were enacted over the past nine years to improve the state’s housing affordability and availability. Each requires ci...