On December 12, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development filed a request to intervene in an exclusionary zoning case filed by RBGG client California Housing Defense Fund against the City of La Cañada Flintridge.  CalHDF’s petition for writ of mandate alleges that the City violated the ”Builder’s Remedy” provision of California’s Housing Accountability Act by disapproving a proposed 80-unit, mixed-income apartment building on the grounds that the building would not comply with the City’s highly restrictive zoning rules.  RBGG attorneys Lisa Ells and Alex Gourse represent CalHDF in the litigation.  On November 22, 2023, Judge Mitchell Beckloff of the Los Angeles County Superior Court overruled the City’s demurrer to CalHDF’s petition and denied its motion to strike.  Judge Beckloff’s order is available here.