Attorney General Bonta, Newsom Administration: La Cañada Flintridge Agrees to End Legal Battle Over Affordable Housing Project

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez released the following statements in response to the City of La Cañada Flintridge’s request to dismiss its appeal concerning a mixed-use affordable housing project that would bring 80 mixed-income residential dwelling units, 14 hotel units, and 7,791 square feet of office space to the community. 

“Subject to court approval, our legal battle against La Cañada Flintridge has come to an end for now. It should not have taken them this long to follow the law,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “California desperately needs more affordable housing, and every city and county must be part of the solution — no exceptions. If La Cañada Flintridge tries to illegally delay this project any further, we will not hesitate to hold them accountable once again.”

“We are pleased to hear that La Cañada Flintridge leaders made the right choice to end these costly legal delays,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “In the end, we were able to hold the city accountable to state housing law and to its constituents at a time when the region needs new housing more than ever to help so many neighbors displaced by fire.”

On December 12, 2023, Attorney General Bonta, Governor Gavin Newsom, and HCD Director Velasquez requested that the court allow them to intervene in the case originally brought by California Housing Defense Fund to uphold California’s housing laws and reverse La Cañada Flintridge’s illegal denial of the mixed-use affordable housing project. On March 4, 2024, the Los Angeles County Superior Court held that La Cañada Flintridge unlawfully denied the project. The city decided to appeal the decision. On June 17, 2024, Attorney General Bonta filed a brief in support of the right of project applicants under the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) to secure a bond pending appeal, writing that “[l]engthy litigation, even if it is meritless, can result in the cancelation of a housing development due to inflation, changing interest rates, carrying costs, and expiring affordability funding.” On February 28, 2025, the Los Angeles County Superior Court ordered La Cañada Flintridge to “post a bond of $14 million within thirty (30) days or to dismiss its appeal” and the La Cañada Flintridge City Council voted to dismiss its appeal.  

A copy of the city's dismissal can be found here.