A recent article published online in The Mercury News brings to light the difficulty in navigating the waters of housing under the 2017 housing bill package. The article titled “State threatens to sue Cupertino over housing policy” details the City of Cupertino’s struggles to stay compliant with housing obligations in effect under new state law.
After receiving a warning notice from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for a possible lawsuit should the City fail to meet the required housing development standards, the City is now faced with juggling conflicting interests as it finds a way to satisfy residents as well as the requirements of new legislation. Recent land development efforts, including one passed under SB 35, have met opposition from some residents. Should opposed residents prevail in their efforts to thwart pending developments, the City will undoubtedly be in violation of state law and therefore open to a lawsuit from HCD.
Having recognized early on the difficulty cities might find in trying to comply with new housing legislation like SB 35, RSG created a housing workshop to help explain the complexities of recently passed housing bills, as well as how City’s will best be able to utilize them for the betterment of their communities while meeting compliance. Along with the legal input of participating law firms, our workshop focuses on some of the following topics:
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What does the 2017 housing bill package mean for local communities?
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How to best prepare for the major implications on local planning policies and housing developments.
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What is the best way forward in meeting compliance and partnering goals as well as what are the penalties for not complying or developing housing?
Along with the input and participation of legal firm Rutan & Tucker, LLP, RSG debuted this workshop at our headquarters for an audience of local communities.We then took the show on the road and earlier this month, presented the workshop with Rutan & Tucker, LLP at the City of La Quinta’s City Hall for surrounding communities. On November 6th, RSG along with legal firm Goldfarb and Lipman, LLC, will be presenting this workshop for local communities in the Bay Area. If you are interested in having RSG present this workshop in your surrounding area, or just have general questions pertaining to the 2017 housing bill package, feel free to reach out to RSG Principals Tara Matthews at [email protected] or Jim Simon at [email protected].