The lecturing came hot and heavy this week.
Government leaders took Huntington Beach and Artesia to task as the state cracks down on jurisdictions that can’t — some might say won’t — get in compliance with housing laws.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta claimed victory on Friday, when a California court of appeals ruled in their favor, forcing Huntington Beach to get a compliant housing element done in 120 days.
The Orange County city locked horns with the state a few years ago after failing to approve plans that outline how it will address housing needs in the long term across income levels in what’s known as a housing element.
“Today’s win is an important development,” Bonta said of the court’s decision. “Huntington Beach is running out of excuses, and the consequences for failing to plan for its fair share of housing are becoming clearer and more serious.”
The lecturing followed Artesia’s settlement with the state on Tuesday. After falling out of compliance by not having a housing element completed in 2023, the city now has until January to figure out how it’ll accommodate 1,069 more housing units.
Newsom accused Artesia of “wasted time and money,” while California Department of Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez brought up cities’ “moral responsibility” when it comes to housing in the Huntington Beach ruling.
Some local jurisdictions say they are struggling to meet the housing targets while balancing local and state regulations around development.
Morality and legal compliance. They’re two different conversations happening in the context of a single subject. As is so often the case, that leaves little room for common ground.
… and cue builder’s remedy
A builder’s remedy project in La Cañada Flintridge resulted in several years of litigation, but the city backed down from its fight in March, after a judge ordered the town to post a $14 million bond if it wanted to continue fighting against Cedar Street Partners’ mixed-use project at 600 Foothill Boulevard.
Plans call for about 7,200 square feet of office and 80 dwelling units, of which eight would be affordable and 16 for hospitality. The firm is seeking development entitlements at city hall as well as $6 million in legal costs in court.
Cedar Street managing member Jonathan Curtis called the city’s development pushback “bewildering.” Whether the project is now on a fast track to getting approvals remains to be seen. It’s set to go before the planning commission on Sept. 18 and city council Oct. 2.
Bond Street’s shakeup
David Parnes and James Harris, founders of the Bond Street Partners team at Carolwood Estates, are splitting as business partners.
Details on what will happen with the nine other agents on their team or if the Bond Street name will be dissolved are not yet known. The two declined to say anything beyond their prepared Instagram message.
The announcement, they said, marks the “next chapter” for their business, one that’s swelled in recent years to make Bond Street RealTrends’ No. 1-ranked medium team in the U.S. with $940 million in volume.
Luka snags Sharapova’s pad
Oceanfront neighborhood The Strand gets all the attention, but how about that Hill Section? That’s where Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Dončić paid $25 million for tennis star Maria Sharapova’s custom build.
Carolwood Estate’s Susân Perryman was the listing agent, and it appears the property traded off market.
The purchase price pushed past 1800 The Strand to be Manhattan Beach’s most expensive home sale ever. The Strand property claimed the record last July when the beachfront property sold for $24.5 million.
Brad Pitt retools property portfolio, again
Two-time Oscar winner Brad Pitt shuffled the deck on his real estate holdings yet again.
The actor sold his Los Feliz home, known locally as The Steel House, in an off-market deal on Friday. Sources told TRD the asking price was $5.5 million. What the home actually closed at is not yet known. If the purchase price was less than $5.3 million, Pitt will have managed to bypass paying the contentious Measure ULA two-tier tax on real estate deals.
Pitt’s agents Jonathan Mogharrabi and Marci Kays of Carolwood Estates represented the A-lister in his latest trade.
Read more
Q&A: La Cañada Flintridge a poster child for builder’s remedy
Carolwood’s Parnes & Harris split, head for “next chapter”
Lakers’ Luka Dončić Snaps Up Manhattan Beach home of Maria Sharapova for $25M