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Mountain View is looking to support legislation that could rein in builder’s remedy, following discontent from community members and some council members who say the current process is unfair and saddles them with massive housing projects that do not fit in their neighborhoods.
Senate Bill 457, introduced by state Sen. Josh Becker, seeks to prevent the “misuse” of builder’s remedy by making it more difficult for developers to submit applications that skirt local zoning laws when cities are working towards meeting their housing goals.
City of Mountain View staff are now recommending that the City Council submit a letter in support of SB 457. The item is included on the council’s consent agenda for a Tuesday, April 22 meeting. The consent agenda is typically passed as a single vote unless a council member pulls an item for discussion.
Becker has argued that SB 457 is about fairness.
“It ensures that cities that do the right thing aren’t penalized and that real, shovel-ready housing projects move forward – rather than letting bad-faith actors take advantage of legal gaps,” Becker said in a press release last month.
At an April 8 meeting, several City Council members expressed dissatisfaction with the builder’s remedy process and said they would back legislation advocating for reform. Now city staff have come back with a recommendation for the council to support SB 457.
The legislation addresses two major flaws in the builder’s remedy process, according to the council report. Currently, builder’s remedy applications can be filed until the state certifies a local jurisdiction’s housing element. SB 457 would make it so that once a local jurisdiction adopts its housing element, the jurisdiction would no longer be vulnerable to builder’s remedy, assuming that the state ultimately certifies the locally approved version.
SB 457 also prevents “bad-faith” actors from abusing builder’s remedy by requiring complete applications. Currently, developers can submit preliminary applications with very little detail about their projects.
“This loophole undermines local planning efforts and allows projects to proceed without regard to thoughtful zoning, community input, or housing equity goals. SB 457 would bring much-needed clarity and fairness to the process,” the council report said.
The report touts Mountain View as a prohousing city that is doing its part to advance affordable housing in the Bay Area. It says there are nine projects totaling more than 1,300 units in the city’s affordable housing pipeline.
Even so, Mountain View was caught up in builder’s remedy two years ago when it failed to submit its housing element on time, and was briefly out of compliance with state law for about four months. During that time, the city received five builder’s remedy applications proposing more than 2,700 residential units, according to the report.
“These five projects submitted in a narrow window of opportunity have resulted in significant incongruities with established development standards in the city. This has caused resident concern and distrust,” the report said.
Since then, Mountain View has approved two builder’s remedy projects, one located at 2645 and 2655 Fayette Drive and the other at 294 and 296 Tyrella Ave.
Other cities are taking note of SB 457 as well. Earlier this month, Palo Alto narrowly approved a proposal to support the legislation in a split 4-3 vote.
SB 457 also has received a position of support from the Santa Clara County Cities Association and a decision is pending for Cal Cities, according to the council report.
