> I take a dim view of "approve more density or we'll sue you".
That's not the rule.
The rule is “approve developments such that you meet state housing requirements or lose your ability to deny planning approval to otherwise legally-compliant developments”.
There is no suing involved: the requirements are known up front, and the consequence of not meeting them is automatic.
> Like, the state already had targets set for cities for a long time, and most cities just kinda ignored them.
Yes, that's why they changed the consequences from just “lose access to certain funding, and lose preference points in applications for other funding” to be that plus losing the ability to block housing developments.
Yeah, one of the reasons I like builders' remedy is it flips the courts' status quo bias on its head - the thing that's tired up in court is city limitations, not construction. That endless delay, even then anti-construction interests lost in the end, was still enough to kill projects economically.
Super weird comparatively as a regulatory framework, but uniquely suited to dealing with California-style procedural obstructionism.
That's not the rule.
The rule is “approve developments such that you meet state housing requirements or lose your ability to deny planning approval to otherwise legally-compliant developments”.
There is no suing involved: the requirements are known up front, and the consequence of not meeting them is automatic.
> Like, the state already had targets set for cities for a long time, and most cities just kinda ignored them.
Yes, that's why they changed the consequences from just “lose access to certain funding, and lose preference points in applications for other funding” to be that plus losing the ability to block housing developments.
And those new teeth have been biting very hard.