Los Angeles, CA – May 17, 2017 – A developer may not convert a Costa Mesa residential motel to a luxury apartment complex by circumventing planning and zoning requirements for affordable housing, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled last week in The Kennedy Commission, et al. v. City of Costa Mesa, et al."This decision is helping us to take another step toward holding city's like Costa Mesa responsible for creating housing opportunities for everyone. We have much more to do on behalf of Orange County residents like Timothy Dadey, but this decision will help the Kennedy Commission to continue to create affordable housing solutions in a County that is facing an affordable housing crisis," said Cesar Covarrubias, Executive Director of the Kennedy Commission, an Orange County housing advocacy organization serving as organizational petitioner in the case.

Judge Mary H. Strobel invalidated development approvals for conversion of the Costa Mesa Motor Inn because the City allowed the proposed project to be built at 54 units per acre, well above the maximum 40 units per acre she said was permitted by local planning and zoning laws. The court ruled that under the state's Density Bonus Law, cities may permit an increase in density only if the developer agrees to build some units affordable to poor people. That did not happen in this case, said Judge Strobel, who also held that the development approvals violated the City's General Plan for land use.

"This sends a strong message to other cities and developers that they may not ignore important affordable housing laws to displace low income households in pursuit of redevelopment and luxury housing," stated Michael Rawson, Director of the Public Interest Law Project (PILP).

"The state law gives developers an incentive to build affordable housing," said Navneet Grewal, an attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, who represents the Kennedy Commission and four former tenants of the Motor Inn. "What the City and the developer improperly tried to do here was exactly the opposite - build luxury housing at the expense of low income tenants."

The lawsuit also contends that under state law displacement of the long-term tenants requires the City to prepare a relocation assistance plan, which would include reimbursement for moving and related expenses. "For many years, the City has acted on a plan to demolish the Motor Inn and evict its long-term residents," said Julian Burns from Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow, another attorney for the petitioners. "The City may not do that without giving the assistance the law requires."

Judge Strobel agreed that it was "undisputed that persons who were long-time residents of the Motor Inn have been required to vacate the premises." But the court stated it was unnecessary to decide the relocation issues, transferring the matter to another judge for trial

In addition to PILP, the petitioners are represented by the Public Law Center (PLC) in Santa Ana, Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow, P.C., the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, and Western Center on Law and Poverty (Western Center) in Los Angeles. PLC Affordable Housing and Homelessness Prevention Unit staff attorney Richard Walker played a significant part in the litigation team.

Learn More: Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times.

About our co-counsel:

Public Law Center, Orange County's pro bono law firm, is committed to providing access to justice for low-income and vulnerable residents through counseling, individual representation, community education, strategic litigation and advocacy to challenge societal injustices.

Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow, P.C. is a boutique litigation firm, whose trial lawyers defend national and multinational corporations, government agencies, closely held companies, partnerships, and individuals.

Legal Aid Society of Orange County and Community Legal Services of southeast Los Angeles County provides civil legal services to seniors and low-income individuals and promotes equal access to the justice system.

Western Center on Law and Poverty, an independent nonprofit law firm originally founded as a joint legal clinic of the law schools of USC, UCLA, and Loyola, brings about system-wide change on behalf of low-income individuals and families through impact litigation, advocacy, negotiations, and legal aid support.