The City of Lafayette has reached a settlement of a lawsuit brought by Housing Action Coalition (“HAC”), which alleged that the City’s Housing Element failed to comply with California’s Housing Element Laws. As part of the settlement, the city has agreed to consider upzoning 130 acres of land and will pay $120,080 in attorney’s fees in order to resolve the pending litigation.

    “While we dispute HAC’s contentions, this settlement agreement was made as part of a compromise in order to avoid time consuming and costly litigation,” said Mayor Carl Anduri. “Lafayette has been and continues to be committed to providing for more housing in our community, including much-needed affordable housing.”

     In addition to resolving the pending lawsuit, the settlement also allows the city to protect itself from future legal risks.  Recent changes in housing law associated with new case law posed risks to the city and by addressing disputed issues now, the city can reduce future litigation risk, avoid future challenges to its Housing Element, and focus its resources on thoughtful planning.

    “Planning for more homes near transit in a high-resource community like Lafayette is exactly the kind of action the Bay Area needs to address the housing crisis and advance fair housing,” said Ali Sapirman, Advocacy and Policy Manager at HAC.  

    “The City of Lafayette envisions a vibrant, connected downtown where new residential growth along Mt. Diablo Boulevard will create more opportunities for people to live close to restaurants, shops, the library, parks, and other gathering places,” said City Manager Niroop K. Srivatsa. “Through this upzoning effort, the city will allow greater residential density within the commercial core with convenient access to the BART station, Highway 24, and the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail. We are committed to partnering with housing developers to deliver housing that will strengthen the economic health and vibrancy of our downtown.”

    Additionally, if the proposed upzoning considerations are approved by the city, then the city will no longer rely on development of five specific “faith-based organization” parcels to meet the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (“RHNA”) obligations.