Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Council votes 3–1 to forward Calabasas housing element progress report as mayor objects to state submission
Loading...
Summary
Calabasas council voted to send the 2025 Housing Element Annual Progress Report to state agencies despite Mayor James Bizajan’s objection; the report shows a surge in permitted units (largely market-rate Commons Lane) but continuing shortfalls in very low, low and moderate RHNA categories, and staff warned of potential ministerial SB 35 consequences if the city lacks substantial progress.
The Calabasas City Council on March 25 voted to forward the city’s 2025 Housing Element Annual Progress Report to state agencies after an extended discussion about RHNA accounting, ADU counting, and enforcement risks. The motion passed 3–1, with Mayor James Bizajan casting the lone dissenting vote; one councilmember was absent.
Jacqueline, the staff presenter, told the council that the city recorded 15 entitlements in 2025 across income categories and 99 building permits issued in 2025, of which 80 permits derived from the Commons Lane project. She explained HCD’s reporting categories and said acutely low and extremely low income counts are now included but are treated as very‑low for the current cycle; the city continues to have remaining allocations of 113 very low, 67 low, and 60 moderate units for the RHNA cycle.
Jacqueline noted ADUs and JADUs account for many of the lower-income entries in staff tables because owners reported rental intentions; those units are not deed‑restricted and therefore are tracked separately for HCD purposes. She also walked council through the city’s multifamily site inventory, identifying 12 candidate sites, including the Las Virgenes shopping center and an Avalon apartment proposal for 135 units (staff said it would include roughly 27 very low‑income units, if finalized).
Councilmembers questioned whether credits can carry over to the next RHNA cycle, how ADUs are counted, and when building permits generate official credit; staff said credits accrue when building permits are issued and that carryovers have not been allowed in recent cycles. City staff and the city attorney warned that failing to show substantial progress could trigger provisions like SB 35, which can allow developers to pursue qualifying projects through a ministerial path with limited local discretion.
Councilmember David Shapiro urged proactive outreach to SCAG and HCD to pursue modifications and to present the city’s high open‑space percentage and wildfire risk as factors to SCAG. Mayor James Bizajan declined to vote to forward the report, saying he believed the city should not submit to HCD and making a series of allegations about prior misconduct by HCD staff; those allegations were not substantiated during the meeting and received no response from HCD at the hearing.
Motion and vote: Councilmember David Shapiro moved to send the housing element APR to the state; Councilmember Alicia Weintraub seconded. The motion passed with 3 yes, 1 no (Mayor Bizajan), and 1 absent.
Next steps: staff will forward the APR to HCD and LCI as required; councilmembers asked staff to pursue proactive outreach to SCAG and to continue tracking site inquiries and permit activity.
