In football, if a defensive player moves across the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped, the referee calls an offsides penalty.
Hills 2000-Friends of the Hills suggests that Los Altos Hills resident and property owner Sasha Zbrozek is offsides in jumping to invoke the “builder’s remedy” before the housing element, submitted on time by Los Altos Hills, is reviewed.
The builder’s remedy was designed to punish cities if, after four years of an eight-year housing cycle, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) found the cities to be substantially noncompliant in bringing to fruition the housing described in their housing element. Among the punishments for noncompliance is that cities lose control of planning and zoning. These functions are essentially handed to developers, provided the developers set aside 20% of their new units for affordable housing.
All this might be acceptable if the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) numbers for the sixth cycle were accurate and if housing for very-low-, low- and moderate-income people could be placed randomly, anywhere with equal success. The RHNA numbers are not accurate. In March 2022, the Acting State Auditor found the RHNA numbers wildly inaccurate with numerous errors due to faulty math and faulty methods. Scattering housing for people with limited incomes in semi-rural areas, with little in the way of expandable infrastructure and no services, is a recipe for failure.
Zbrozek may enjoy being disruptive, but applying to build an apartment complex on a steep, residential lot served by a narrow road only proves how little he understands about limits. If, as he apparently claims, his project pencils out, a profit can only be achieved if everyone else in Los Altos Hills pays for water, sewer and electricity upgrades, not to mention schools, hospitals, as well as police and fire protection for the greater density his project would bring. That the neighbors are outraged is understandable.
The rest of us should not wait for the unacceptable project to pop up next door. Instead, let our town council know how important it is for them to uphold the town’s founding principles. Passage of State Senate Bill 9 encouraged lot splits and the sacrifice of open space without any demands that housing built on the new lots be affordable. The RHNA numbers come with threats but no money to do the actual building. In this adversarial climate, lawsuits seem like the only answer.
There’s still time to join a lawsuit to stop HCD from imposing its faulty RHNA numbers. If Los Altos Hills were to join, it would likely cost $20,000-$30,000. That’s far less than the $219,296 the town has already spent just on consultants and attorneys to prepare its housing element.
A lawsuit is already in progress to stop SB 9 from causing additional damage to the character of cities throughout California. What’s really at stake in both lawsuits is local control.
Hills 2000-Friends of the Hills believes in giving residents a voice in how their communities develop.
Ann Duwe and Duffy Price are Los Altos Hills residents and members of the group Hills 2000-Friends of the Hills.
