Sunday, August 10, 2025

Low-Income Housing Advocates Sue to Rezone Fire-Ravaged Palisades, Altadena Areas

The lawsuit challenges SB 9 development bans in post-fire zones, citing recovery and affordability concerns

A coalition of low-income housing groups and attorneys filed suit this week to challenge state and local restrictions on development in fire-damaged areas of Pacific Palisades and in Altadena, arguing that the bans hinder affordable housing efforts amid post-disaster recovery.

The lawsuit targets Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-32-25, which suspended SB 9 applications within “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones” affected by the January Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires. The order was confirmed in a July 30 press release from the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and further clarified by the Governor’s Office, which stated the suspension applies to all state-level SB 9 permits within the fire perimeters of Pacific Palisades and in Altadena.

Sonja Trauss, executive director of YIMBY Law, said the governor’s emergency powers must be used to facilitate—not restrict—rebuilding efforts.

“Rebuilding is recovery. Allowing more people to do more with their land is facilitating recovery,” she said. “In a state of emergency, our understanding is that the governor would be allowed to suspend laws that interfere with disaster mitigation and recovery. They would have to somehow say SB 9 is interfering with disaster mitigation and recovery.”

Housing advocates argue that the SB 9 suspension unfairly prevents property owners from converting single-family lots into duplexes or other multi-unit configurations, a key provision of the 2021 law aimed at easing California’s housing crisis.

“There is nothing linking additional density to added fire danger. If the city doesn’t have enough egress points, requiring housing that is less fire safe does not improve safety. New housing must meet higher fire standards,” said Ryan J. Patterson, managing partner at Patterson & O’Neill PC, which is representing the plaintiffs.

However, city officials maintain that increased density could exacerbate evacuation challenges in high-risk zones. “The ability for developers to use SB 9 to change recently destroyed single-family home lots into multiple residences could drastically further challenge ingress and egress in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone following the worst fire disaster the city has ever faced,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass during a press conference announcing the emergency order.

Critics of SB 9 also contend that the law fails to guarantee affordability. “Our position is, SB 9 should never have been passed because it doesn’t guarantee affordable housing. We think SB 9 is a developer tool to push out existing tenants and gentrify neighborhoods,” said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival.

The lawsuit seeks to overturn the SB 9 suspension and allow rezoning of the fire-affected areas to support affordable housing development as part of the rebuilding process.