March 7, 2022

Crenshaw Subway Coalition v. City of Los Angeles (March 3, 2022, B309288)

The City of Los Angeles (the City) approved a project in South Los Angeles that would renovate an existing shopping mall and build offices spaces, apartments, and other structures. The project was near two neighborhoods that were largely Black and Latinx. The Crenshaw Subway Coalition (Crenshaw), a neighborhood advocacy group, sued to enjoin the project on a gentrification theory, alleging that low-income Black and Latinx residents living around the project would be pushed out by more affluent residents and increasing property values in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The trial court granted judgment on the pleadings on the Fair Housing and FEHA claims and dismissed the CEQA claim as untimely. Crenshaw appealed.

The Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that the Fair Housing Act and the FEHA prohibit relief. The court concluded that enjoining the project would perpetuate race-based considerations and “racial isolation” or segregation by preserving “Black Los Angeles,” and requiring city officials to avoid gentrification-based displacement for a project that takes place in a majority-minority community, but not in a mostly white neighborhood. The court also agreed that the CEQA claim was untimely.