Community Update 2/26

WHLA has been very busy speaking with legislators in Sacramento and Los Angeles, including conversations with legislative staff from the office of Buffy Wicks. Who is Buffy?  CA Asm Member Buffy Wicks along with CA Senator Scott Weiner are two of the main sponsers who have drafted and heavily supported and pushed housing legislation like AB 2011, AB 2243, and AB 893. 

After detailed conversations, the good news is that the consensus from the actual authors of the AB bills is that they were not intended for VHFHSZ and environmentally fragile areas like the Girard Tract.  The bad news is that there is no preamble or guidance in the bills that indicates this.   It would take time to amend the bills or introduce new legislation, and we don't have that sort of time.  

Where do we go from here?

WHLA has reached out to state and  local leadership to ask if CA State Attorney General Rob Bonta would be able to issue a guidance letter to city planning departments across the state.  A guidance letter is a tool the AG can use to help planning departments (and other agencies) interpret legislation.  We have also asked our local leadership to reach out to HCD (Housing and Community Development) for emergency clarification as well.  WHLA  was represented at a meeting with Asm Jesse Gabriel.  We asked and Jesse agreed to reach out to the AG, Buffy Wicks, and HCD on our behalf.  We are very grateful for Jesse's willingness to help and for his time today.  That being said, the wheels turn slowly in Sacramento, and even with a guidance letter, we aren't necessarily out of the woods since this letter would be issued well after the developers filed their submission package with the City and they could file suit based on this.  

On another note, tools like a guidance letter, as well as an ICO or urgency measure are all in the toolbox of City Council members.  We have asked Bob Blumenfield to act on measures that can be taken with City Planning and the State.  Traci Park, the assembly member who represents Pacific Palisades, fights hard for her community and was the primary force behind getting Governor Gavin Newsom to issue an executive order pausing SB 9 in the Pacific Palisades in July 2025. Park cited, and Mayor Karen Bass supported, concerns that increased density in high-fire-risk zones threatened public safety and evacuation routes.  Asm Jesse Gabriel did offer to look into the possibility of an EO, but wasn't hopeful due to the backlog in Sacramento and strong feelings of support for the bills within the legislative community up there.  He also mentioned that it's really the Los Angeles City Council's responsibility (are you dizzy yet?).  So, this leaves us taking legal action of our own as a community.  Enter Jamie T Hall...

As many of you know, Jamie Hall has been retained by WHLA to represent our community in the fight against the proposed development of Woodland Hills Country Club.  Jamie has already been in contact with the developer's attorney and is also doing an exhaustive analysis of the AB bills, which is no small task. Once this is complete, he will issue a memo regarding his findings with respect to project compliance.  The bills are complex, somewhat convoluted and there appears to be leeway in how they are interpreted.  Jamie has also hired a former senior LA City planner as an expert consultant who will be checking the full project submission package for compliance with respect to zoning regulations. We will also need to hire experts to do a peer review of the submitted biological report which Planning has called out as flawed, and will need other experts. Please help us get this done!  We are asking for donations to our community fund so we can keep our fight going. We can't do this without you!

Please join our list for updates, and share this with your neighbors.  We need all of you! 

Finally, on a longer term note, Senator Henry Stern is working on drafting legislation that will address the problematic issues with AB 2011, AB 2243, and AB 893.  We are forever grateful to Henry and his legislative staff for the thoughtful letter released on behalf of our community back in December.  We know that Senator Stern has been working diligently to try and stop ministerial review of the proposed project at WHCC.  However, City Planning has not been willing to draw a red line around this.  We believe Planning is fearful of being sued or penalized by the State for not complying with AB 2011 provisions.  Jamie Hall's counsel is critical in trying to stop what Planning seems unwilling to.