Newsom Order on Duplexes in LA Wildfire Burn Zones Draws Suit

A California housing advocacy group asked a state court to order California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and local officials to stop suspending a state law that allows for the construction and sale of duplexes in the Palisades and Eaton Fire burn areas.

California’s SB 9 green-lights the construction and sale of one or two duplexes in plots zoned for single-family use. When in July Newsom issued an executive order suspending that law for areas at highest risk of dangerous wildfires, he exceeded his authority and undermined efforts to rebuild Los Angeles communities still reeling from historic January wildfires, said the ...