Mountain View Faces Potential Lawsuit

Since Mountain View took so long to get its Housing Element approved by the State Department of Housing and Community Development, the city was subject to the now widely known “builder’s remedy” rules. This essentially requires cities to approve projects without having any oversight or zoning enforcement. A project was submitted on Tyrella Ave. a day after Mountain View missed its requirement for Housing Element approval. Instead of that project moving forward, Mountain View has continued to put road blocks and contends the builder’s remedy is no longer applicable.

The project would include up to 85 units with 20% of them being affordable units. This is a requirement of the builder’s remedy, and the developer intends to meet them. However, with all the road blocks the city has put in place, YIMBY Law, a housing legal advocacy group, has threatened litigation if the project is not allowed to move forward as proposed. Mountain View appears to be firm in its persistence that while maybe zoning standards are not enforceable, other requirements such as park fees, housing impact fees, and other conditions of development approval are still applicable. It is unclear how the city intends to move forward with the threat of potential litigation.

More information on the matter can be found here.