The latest “not in my backyard” tactic in California’s real estate disputes and state housing law wars?
Filing a complaint with the state bar association.
Case in point: A lawyer who failed to raze Rancho Palos Verdes, California, filed a complaint with the California State Bar about a March 2025 YIMBY Law letter directed at the city council, which suggested the city should follow housing orders.
The state bar, in turn, has launched an investigation into housing advocacy group YIMBY Law for the unauthorized practice of law. Lawyers with the Institute for Justice, which represents YIMBY Law, argue that the investigation violates the First Amendment.
The dispute may be a litmus test of how far zoning opponents will push back against government housing. Tensions are high between Sacramento housing regulators and opponents of the state’s density-enhancing laws passed at the urging of “yes in my backyard” supporters.
That tension parallels battles in other cities where NIMBY-minded citizens have turned to the courts and professional regulators to delay or punish efforts to add any level of density to single-family neighborhoods.
In Charlottesville, Va., for example, homeowners sued over a 2023 rezoning that opened up single-family lots to “off-center” housing, alleging procedural irregularities. The city settled rather than go to court after a judge summarily overturned its zoning code. It agreed to provide new traffic courses and infrastructure while maintaining more density
The complaint against YIMBY Law is unusual because Sonja Trauss, its executive director, is not a qualified attorney. The group is advocating for changes to the laws to build more housing
YIMBY Law often writes letters to local agencies to encourage adherence to statewide housing laws such as the Housing Accountability Act.
“You don’t have to be a lawyer to tell the government what you think,” said Trauss. “This is more than a policy disagreement – this is trying to end the conversation altogether.”
Challenge over 16 houses
Last year Rancho Palos Verdes, an affluent city in Los Angeles County, considered removing three sites from its “Real Estate Plan” that was being updated by 2024.
Developer Ali Vahdani had a request for the building to be subdivided from four houses per acre to 22 units per acre by 2024. Vahdani had purchased the parcel from Thomas and Shannon Hartman, who still live in the area. He wants to build 14 townhomes and two utility homes
Vahdani’s plans met with opposition from neighbors, including the Hartmans. Neighbors argue that the density will damage the single-family home and put the nearby 250,00-year-old landslide at risk.
As the city prepares to decide, Vahdani, an architect and founder of Optimum Seismicyou have been told The Real Deal he felt frustrated. This project will be his first development
“I saw it as completely wrong, completely crazy,” he said. “I couldn’t believe they would reduce it after a few months.”
His lawyer intensified the fight. Trauss followed up with a detailed letter to the city council saying that removing the sites would violate state law and the rights granted to Vahdani.
An amendment to the city’s housing plan has already been submitted to the California Coastal Commission, marking the final approval in the process.
Reopening the process “could expose the city to more litigation and scrutiny,” Trauss wrote in his letter.
In 2019, the state passed the Housing Crisis Act that limited the foreclosures and procedural barriers to protect and expand California’s housing capacity statewide. The government tightened the rules in cities more in 2021. The city council chose not to make any changes. That was not the end of the war
Neighbors took the zoning dispute to the Coastal Commission
After the council kept these areas in the housing scheme, the opposition took their fight to the government. Newport Beach attorney Kendra Carney Mehr represented the Hartmans at the commission’s hearing in August. Mehr sent a counter email along with others, highlighting environmental and geopolitical concerns about the site
He pointed out that the city’s housing zoning amendment “has created zoning and inconsistent development. Mehr cited the coastal zone plan, which coastal cities must have by law, which says: “All new development shall be single-family residential. Subdivisions of large parcels should be designed in a way that will fit in with the existing community pattern.”
The commission approved the city’s amendment despite objections. After the commission backed the city, Mehr continued to fight. Filed a complaint against the YIMBY Act. Meher did not respond to questions about the promotion
The lawyers of the Institute for Justice were surprised that the bar association did not dismiss this appeal as it has done to many. It is not clear what the fine will be because Trauss is not a member of the group. The Institute said it will file a lawsuit if the lawyers’ association continues with disciplinary action.
“There is nothing more American than the right to tell government officials you think they are breaking the law,” said Attorney General Sam Gedge, in a statement. “The only thing you need before writing to government officials is an opinion – not a license from the government.”
