BEVERLY HILLS—On Thursday, January 18, the Los Angeles Times reported that Beverly Hills authorities are appealing Judge Kim’s December 21, 2023 decision to place a moratorium on building permits other than new residential developments due to the reported failure of city leaders to provide evidence of a plan for affordable housing.
Judge Kim noted in his ruling that Beverly Hills is relying on medical office buildings and car dealerships being converted into affordable housing despite Beverly Hills’ admission that this transition is unlikely, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Kim is allowing some permits and relayed that doing so places cities at risk of penalties for not fulfilling requirements by California law.
Real estate agents indicate that population growth in Beverly Hills stagnated, and potentially declined.
According to the World Population Review, the current population in Beverly Hills is 29,748. In 2021, the population was 31,900. In 2022, 31,200, and in 2023, 31,400 people resided in the region.
Californians for Homeownership is a non–profit organization that filed lawsuits against ten California cities that failed to meet state housing planning obligations including, Beverly Hills, Bradbury, Claremont, Fullerton, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Laguna Hills, Manhattan Beach, South Pasadena, and Vernon.
“We have filed lawsuits against ten Southern California cities for violating state laws that require cities to plan for the development of housing. The litigation aims to enforce the requirements of California’s RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) and housing element laws. Under the RHNA system, the state and local governments work together to identify regional housing needs and distribute them among a region’s cities and counties. Each city and county must then develop a housing element, a component of the city’s general plan that identifies sites available for future housing development sufficient to meet the city’s RHNA allocation.
If the city cannot identify adequate sites, it must change its zoning to allow additional housing development. Our lawsuits against Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills focus on problems with the cities’ adopted housing elements. State law requires housing elements to identify sites that are likely to be developed into housing over an eight-year planning period by 2029,” reads a statement from the California for Homeowners website.
The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) is a process under California state law that allows cities and unincorporated areas in the counties to plan and prepare to accommodate projected population growth.
