The buildings at 8800 Wilshire Blvd., left, and 8820 Wilshire Blvd., right, would each be 19 stories tall and sit immediately adjacent to each other. (renderings courtesy of SPF Architects)

A developer for two proposed builder’s remedy projects at 8800 Wilshire Blvd. and 8820 Wilshire Blvd. filed two lawsuits against the city of Beverly Hills, alleging that the city illegally denied the two projects. Additionally, two housing nonprofits have filed lawsuits against the city in regards to the proposed projects.

“The city’s actions here are egregious. The city has done everything possible to stop these two housing development projects, including by illegally preventing my clients from appealing the unlawful denials of the projects to City Council,” the developer’s attorney Ryan Leaderman said. “Both projects are proposed by local property owners and would provide much needed market rate housing and affordable housing in well-designed buildings. The city has a massive shortfall of housing and the city’s actions show it is absolutely not serious about helping to solve our housing shortage. My clients will vigorously pursue all avenues under the law to hold the city accountable for its unlawful denials of these two housing development projects.”

The builder’s remedy is a state provision that allows private developers to bypass local code regulations when a project contains at least 20% affordable housing. The provision takes effect when a municipality’s housing element – a state-mandated outline of zoning for affordable housing within the city – is out of compliance.

The goal of the builder’s remedy is to incentivize the creation of affordable housing to address California’s ongoing housing crisis. The builder’s remedy falls under the state’s Housing Accountability Act, which was passed in 1982 and significantly expanded in 2017.

The city of Beverly Hills’ housing element for the 2021-29 cycle was out of compliance for approximately three years between 2021-24.

The preliminary applications for the two projects were filed in December 2023.

Both projects along Wilshire Boulevard were submitted by King’s Arch, Inc., which is owned by the Shamooilian family, according to the lawsuit. The properties sit immediately adjacent to each other and occupy the southern block of Wilshire Boulevard between Clark Drive and Robertson Boulevard.

The complaint states that the 19-story development at 8800 Wilshire Blvd. would contain 139 units, including 17 affordable units. Additionally, it would include 1,381 square feet of ground floor retail space and 225 parking spaces in an underground structure.

The development at 8820 Wilshire Blvd. would include 134 units, with 16 designated as affordable housing. Similarly, the project would contain 1,870 square feet of ground floor retail space and 223 parking spaces in an above-ground structure. The proposed building at 8820 Wilshire Blvd. would also be 19 stories tall.

In a statement, Beverly Hills City Attorney Laurence Wiener said the city’s actions were justified.

“We are confident that the city has treated the projects appropriately,” Wiener said. “Unfortunately, these projects increased their building construction area by more than 20% between the preliminary application and the final application, which disqualifies the projects from the builder’s remedy process.”

While state housing law stipulates that a builder’s remedy project can lose its vested rights if “the development application proposes a quantity of square footage that deviates from the quantity proposed in the preliminary application by 20% or greater,” the lawsuits argue that the developments’ overall square footage did not change by 20%.

In addition to the lawsuits filed by the developers, housing advocacy group Californians for Homeownership filed a lawsuit against the city for denying the 8820 Wilshire Blvd. project, alleging the city violated state housing laws. Additionally, a similar nonprofit, the California Housing Defense Fund, filed a parallel lawsuit against the city alleging that it violated state law by denying the project at 8800 Wilshire Blvd.

The city now faces at least six builder’s remedy lawsuits. The developer of a 19-story project at 125-129 S. Linden sued the city, alleging an illegal denial, while Californians for Homeownership also filed a lawsuit in regards to that project.