California's Builder's Remedy: Its Impact on Local Housing, Planning, and Communities | | California’s housing crisis has placed cities like Gilroy at the intersection of urgent housing needs and important local priorities, including infrastructure, public services, and community character. State housing laws intended to increase housing production are changing how cities plan for and review development. In Gilroy, those changes are taking shape through housing projects that differ from the community’s adopted plans for growth. One of the state's most consequential and controversial housing policies is the Builder’s Remedy, a provision of California’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA) that limits local governments' authority to reject certain developments when their housing plans do not comply with state law. Its implementation has raised important questions about housing affordability, local control, environmental protection, and the future of communities throughout Santa Clara County. | | Understanding the Builder's Remedy | | |
California’s Builder’s Remedy originated nearly 50 years ago and was strengthened through subsequent, recent legislation. Under California law, cities and counties must adopt a Housing Element demonstrating how they will accommodate their share of regional housing needs. When a jurisdiction misses the deadline for a compliant Housing Element, qualifying residential projects may proceed despite conflicts with local zoning regulations or general plans.
The Builder’s Remedy does not automatically approve development or eliminate applicable environmental review and public health and safety requirements. However, it significantly limits a city or county’s ability to deny an eligible housing project because it conflicts with local zoning or general plan land-use designations. This can allow housing on land planned for other purposes, such as industry or agriculture, and at densities that differ from the community’s adopted plans. For local jurisdictions, this creates challenges in preserving land for jobs, protecting agricultural areas, and coordinating housing growth with infrastructure and public services. These limits shift considerable influence over development decisions toward state housing requirements.
Beyond land-use conflicts, Builder’s Remedy projects can limit the local jurisdiction’s ability to apply certain development standards or require changes to a project’s design. These limits may affect building height, setbacks, and other features that shape how development fits into surrounding neighborhoods. Additional housing also requires careful planning for water, wastewater, roads, and emergency services.
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Gilroy has experienced the effects of the Builder’s Remedy through a proposed residential development along Hecker Pass Highway. This 116-home project on approximately 24 acres was submitted under these provisions despite inconsistencies with the Hecker Pass Specific Plan and the City's General Plan. The proposal includes nine homes designated for extremely low-income households.
While additional housing can help address regional demand, the project raises questions about preserving Gilroy’s scenic landscape, established planning priorities, and adequate public services.
For another housing project, Gilroy faced a significant legal dispute. This project involved a proposed residential development at 315 Las Animas Avenue. Originally designed as a 501-unit project on industrially zoned land, the application led to a 2024 lawsuit over whether the Builder’s Remedy applied. In June 2025, the lawsuit was dropped when the City Council approved a settlement framework allowing a revised 530-unit project to move forward. The agreement includes more than $4 million in unrestricted community benefit dollars to the city when the project is completed, along with additional valuable planning commitments. This case illustrates the legal and financial challenges when state housing mandates conflict with local land-use regulations.
| | Impact on Unincorporated Santa Clara County | | |
Builder’s Remedy has significant implications for unincorporated Santa Clara County, too, where agricultural lands and open spaces surrounding Gilroy and Morgan Hill face development pressure, with approximately 20 proposed projects that could collectively introduce more than 6,500 homes across hundreds of acres of agricultural land.
These proposals highlight the tension between addressing housing shortages and protecting farmland, agricultural businesses, wildlife habitat, and rural landscapes. County officials must also consider the cost of extending roads, utilities, emergency services, and other infrastructure into historically agricultural areas.
| | Examples of Impact on Other Cities in Santa Clara County | | |
Morgan Hill: 4 Builder’s Remedy Project Applications
- 323-unit residential complex on land designated for industrial use
- 259-multi-family unit complex
Los Gatos: 19 Builder’s Remedy Project Applications
- 199-unit apartment complex spanning 13 stories
- 450-unit residential complex on 15+ acres
Saratoga: 25 Builder’s Remedy Project Applications
- 132-unit townhome complex where the draft environmental review documents identify emergency response and evacuation impacts as significant and unavoidable
- 25-unit residential complex on a hillside with wildfire concerns
Palo Alto: 10 Builder’s Remedy Project Applications
- 390-unit residential complex spanning 17 stories
- 368-unit apartment complex
| | Balancing State Housing Goals and Local Control | | The strengthening of Builder’s Remedy in recent years reflects California’s determination to address its housing shortage by increasing accountability for local housing planning. Supporters emphasize its potential to overcome restrictive zoning and expand housing opportunities. Critics raise concerns about reduced local decision-making authority, infrastructure limitations, and development in environmentally sensitive or agricultural areas. Local public opinion about Builder’s Remedy and housing is mixed and often passionate. Retirees who have moved to a smaller city to enjoy the rural character may have very strong opinions against building more homes. While young people, who were born and raised in the same city, and in search of a home of their own, may support increasing housing supply in the hopes that they, too, will one day be able to afford a home. For mayors and local elected officials, the challenge is balancing these competing priorities through legally compliant housing plans, transparent public engagement, and careful evaluation of infrastructure and environmental impacts, all while preserving community priorities and ensuring that new housing is supported by the services residents both want and need. | | Join Us for Coffee with the Mayor | | |
I invite you to learn more about the Builder’s Remedy, how it impacts Gilroy, and what it means for our community at our monthly Coffee with the Mayor on Saturday, November 14, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Gilroy City Council Chambers. This is an opportunity to ask questions, share your thoughts, and engage in an open conversation about the housing challenges and opportunities facing our city.
I hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Mayor Greg Bozzo
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