315 LAS ANIMAS AVE. DEVELOPER SUES CITY OF GILROY TO ENFORCE THE LAW
Major lawsuit details the City of Gilroy and City Council’s violations of the Housing Accountability Act and the Permit Streamlining Act.
City of Gilroy taxpayers to face tens of millions in fines and legal fees
GILROY, CALIF.: Gandolfi Investments, LLC, a subsidiary of Ten South, filed a lawsuit against the City of Gilroy, the Gilroy City Council, and the City’s Community Development Department on Friday, June 26, 2024, in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The lawsuit contains seven causes of action.
The lawsuit details how the City of Gilroy Community Development Department staff, the City Council, and the Mayor refused to recognize that the 315 Las Animas Ave. development was protected by the Builder’s Remedy law, which prohibited the City of Gilroy from denying the project for inconsistencies with the City’s zoning ordinance or general plan land use designation because the City failed to adopt a state-compliant housing element. The suit also highlights how the City of Gilroy and its elected leadership, in an effort to block the project, repeatedly violated the Permit Streamlining Act and the Housing Accountability Act. Mayor Blankley made it clear that she would do whatever it takes to prevent the project from being built, regardless of what the law required. Other council members admitted privately that even if it were a Builder’s Remedy project, it wouldn’t matter. The lawsuit adds, “Under no circumstances will [they] vote to approve the project.”
“It’s unfortunate that the City, through cavalier actions and statements, forced us to file a lawsuit, especially when housing, particularly affordable housing, is so desperately needed throughout California, and especially in Gilroy,” stated William McGuinn, General Counsel for the developer of the 315 Las Animas project. “The City of Gilroy refused to process this project as a Builder’s Remedy project despite repeated guidance from the State saying it must. Now the City, and ultimately Gilroy taxpayers, face up to $25 million in fines and millions more in litigation costs, footing the bill of Mayor Blankley’s personal power struggle with the State.”
The California Department of Housing and Community Development recently sent the City of Gilroy back-to-back Technical Assistance letters regarding compliance with the Permit Streamlining Act and the protections of the Housing Accountability Act.
Specifically:
A July 2, 2024, HCD Technical Assistance letter expressly states that the 315 Las Animas Ave. Project “is eligible for the protections of the Builder’s Remedy” – correcting the false claims made by Gilroy city officials and staff that the Builder’s Remedy does not apply.
A second, July 23, 2024, HCD Technical Assistance letter clarified that under subdivision (d)(5), the City may not disapprove the project for inconsistency with either 1) the general plan land use designation or 2) the zoning ordinance. Therefore, should the City determine that the application is incomplete based on an inconsistency with either the general plan land use designation or zoning ordinance, this would constitute an effective disapproval of the project in violation of the HAA.”
“On May 20, 2024, the Gilroy City Council effectively disapproved the project when it voted to uphold staff’s determination that our application is incomplete based on items outside the scope of a PSA completeness determination,” added McGuinn. “We tried entering into settlement negotiations with the City of Gilroy but were ignored. This lawsuit was our last resort.”
About 315 Las Animas:
The proposed multifamily development at 315 Las Animas would be the most amenitized and beautiful multifamily community in the south San Jose area. The development is expected to be the first in the region to receive a 5-star rating from the real estate industry leader CoStar. Although the specification level and amenities package proposed for 315 Las Animas exceed that of nearly all luxury multifamily developments across the state (and even many of the new for-sale housing in the region), the development would set aside 20% of its units to serve lower-income households – and the remainder of units would be targeted for moderate-income households.
Visit www.park315.com to sign a petition urging the City Council to approve the 315 Las Animas Ave. development project application, which will add 501 units for Gilroy neighbors who need them.
