RMM Successfully Defends Sustainable Communities Project Against Multiple Challenges

In what may be the first litigation of its kind, RMM has defeated three challenges to the City of Los Angeles’s reliance on the Sustainable Communities Project exemption. The exemption—for Transit Priority Projects that meet other environmental and efficiency standards—was adopted as part of SB 375. The exemption has not been frequently used, presumably because of its rigorous standards for access to transit and other sustainability requirements. But more cities are reexamining the exemption in light of California’s housing crisis and renewed focus on transit, infill development, energy and water efficiency, and other sustainability features. The City, with help from RMM, developed a model for evaluating such projects. The City’s approval was upheld against challenges contained in three separate lawsuits. Tiffany Wright and Elizabeth Pollock represented the applicant, CRM Properties.