California Attorney General Rob Bonta is wading into a dispute between the developer of an affordable housing project and the city of Del Mar.
On Friday, the AG's office sent a warning letter saying Del Mar could face penalties in the new year over its determination that the application for the Seaside Ridge development is incomplete.
Assembly Bill 712 goes into effect on Jan. 1. Among other things, it gives developers more powers to sue cities and agencies for violating housing reform laws.
"Lowering the cost of rent and homeownership for Californians has been a top priority for Attorney General Bonta since taking office, and he is committed to ensuring that cities and counties comply with state housing laws to get us there," a spokesperson for the AG's office said in a statement to KPBS.
In 2023, a developer applied to build the Seaside Ridge project on the bluffs overlooking Del Mar’s Dog Beach. It would be a 259-unit apartment complex with 85 affordable units, of which 42 are low income. The property is owned by Del Mar resident Carol Lazier, who filed a preliminary application for the project in 2022.
"There is no dispute that the preliminary application was submitted at a time when the city had not adopted a housing element that was in substantial compliance with the Housing Element Law," the AG's letter said. "The city has subsequently issued four letters conveying its incompleteness determinations with respect to both the preliminary application and full project application."
The developer sued, arguing the project was eligible for a builder's remedy, which would reduce the red tape required for project approval. A builder’s remedy allows a developer to bypass local zoning laws to build a housing project with an affordable housing component, when cities do not meet state-mandated housing requirements.
Earlier this year a judge dismissed the case, saying the developer needs to exhaust all administrative options at the city level first. In July, Seaside Ridge appealed to the City Council, which denied the appeal in September.
The City Council is standing by that decision, Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland said. Part of the reason why, she said, is that the development would need a zoning change.
“Changing what can be built on a beautiful, fragile bluff like this one is an extreme one," she said. "This is a coastal bluff, and that means the Coastal Commission has to weigh in and the application lacked those materials.”
Lazier has since refiled the lawsuit against Del Mar, alleging the city acted in bad faith and seeking an order requiring the city to process and approve the application.
Bonta thinks the city is dragging its feet on the issue. In the letter, the AG's office said the city’s position that the application is incomplete is legally untenable.
"By insisting that the application is incomplete, the city has effectively blocked the applicant from obtaining any meaningful review of those disputes from either the City Council or the courts,” Bonta's spokesperson said in a statement. "Our letter simply tells the city that it must either narrow its questions and process the application without further delay or deny the application so the project applicant can seek relief in court."
Compliance with the state's housing laws is one of Bonta's top priorities. In 2024, he sued Elk Grove for illegally denying a proposed 66-unit supportive housing project for lower-income households at risk of homelessness. In 2023, he sued the city of Coronado for failing to meet the state's housing mandate.
