A building permit application that stalls in plan check can cost a property owner thousands of dollars in carrying costs, lost income, and escalating construction prices. In California, permit delays are a widespread source of frustration for homeowners, small developers, and commercial property owners alike. Some delays reflect genuine complexity in the application. Others reflect… Read more »
California needs far more housing than it builds each year. The state falls short by an estimated 180,000 homes annually, creating ongoing pressure on housing affordability and supply. To address that shortage, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 2011, the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022. AB 2011 allows affordable and mixed-income housing… Read more »
SB 684 requires California cities to ministerially approve small residential subdivisions of ten units or fewer on qualifying urban lots. Signed on October 11, 2023, and effective July 1, 2024, the law removes discretionary review, public hearings, and CEQA analysis for projects that meet its objective criteria. Senate Bill 1123, effective July 1, 2025, expanded… Read more »
California property owners and developers often run into the same pattern. A permit application goes in complete. The city requests additional studies. Then supplemental responses. Hearings continue without resolution, and new issues surface late in the process. Meanwhile, carrying costs increase and project timelines stretch beyond what the financing can support. Delay alone is not… Read more »
Historic preservation and housing development often come into conflict in California. Cities use historic rules to protect buildings and neighborhoods they view as culturally or architecturally significant, while developers focus on meeting housing demand in a state facing a long-standing shortage. In practice, that conflict shows up during project review. A historic designation, landmark finding,… Read more »
Developers across California often face a frustrating situation. A project complies with zoning rules, yet the city still denies approval. In many cases, the denial points to a supposed conflict with the general plan. This creates uncertainty, delays, and added costs. Zoning conflicts in California frequently arise when cities rely on broad or outdated general… Read more »
California’s housing shortage has pushed the Legislature to change permit laws that affect property owners and developers. Two new laws taking effect in 2026 – AB 253 and AB 301 – create stricter timelines for government reviews of housing permits. These laws aim to reduce bureaucratic delays that have slowed construction and added costs to housing projects…. Read more »
Today the land use law firm of Kassouni Law filed the opening brief in an important case challenging the Plan Bay Area’s Sustainable Communities Strategy adopted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). Kassouni Law represents Michael Shaw of Freedom Advocates, Rosa Koire, and the Post-Sustainability Institute. MTC and ABAG were… Read more »
