The city of Beverly Hills has been ordered to stop issuing permits for home remodels and renovations until a plan for affordable housing is enacted.
Beverly Hills is supposed to plan for more than 3,100 new homes, most of them affordable, but because the state has denied the feasibility of the city’s plans, “Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin blocked the city from issuing all building permits except for new residential development,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The judge noted that Beverly Hills is counting on medical office buildings and car dealerships to convert to housing, despite the city’s own concession that it’s unlikely to happen,” the Times reports. “In its plan, for instance, the city says an Audi dealership on Wilshire Boulevard that was just renovated could turn into 41 apartments.”
For now, officials are still issuing building permits as normal while the city appeals the decision, but that could change as the legal process moves forward, said Andrew Slocum, co-owner of Urban Development Company, in the Times report. If that happens, pressure from businesses could force the city to change tack.
“The minute someone goes in there and they do not issue permits, it’ll be wildfire through the developer, the builder, the contractor community,” Slocum said. “It’s unheard of.”