Sponsored link
Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Sponsored link

OpinionLetters We AnswerLetter to the editor: Yes, a taxpayer can sue over the state's...

Letter to the editor: Yes, a taxpayer can sue over the state’s housing laws

Retired real estate lawyer weighs in on state law.

-

We love letters to the editor. Here’s one from someone who actually knows the answer to a question I raised:

In “Peskin, Chan want to know if SF can sue the state over impossible housing rules,” Tim Redmond asks, “Could a San Francisco citizen, or organization [as distinguished from San Francisco itself], sue? ‘That,’ said Peskin, ‘is a very good question.’”

The answer is that any citizen who has paid taxes to the state can sue the state (or an agency thereof) to restrain illegal, injurious, or wasteful expenditures under section 526a of the Code of Civil Procedure. Any such lawsuit needs to be brought in state court because federal courts have strict standing requirements.

Anti-displacement activists opposed one of Wiener’s bills mandating more luxury housing in San Francisco



The portion of SB 423 singling out San Francisco is illegal because it violates the California Constitution, Article IV, Section 16(b): “A local or special statute is invalid in any case if a general statute can be made applicable.” A taxpayer action could seek a declaration that this portion of SB 423 is an invalid special statute. Notably, there isn’t even language in the bill, as there is in other special statutes, purporting to justify it as addressing a problem unique to San Francisco.

A taxpayer action could also seek a broader declaration that the state housing laws do not take precedence over San Francisco zoning laws, because as a charter city, San Francisco has a right to home rule protected by the California Constitution. This power includes zoning. A conflicting state law, even on a matter of statewide concern, only prevails over home rule if the law is reasonably related to resolution of a matter of statewide concern and narrowly tailored to avoid unnecessary interference in local governance.

The state housing laws fail this test for numerous reasons. Studies by the Terner Center show the laws have failed to achieve their goals and scholars have described them as “ad hoc and not model based.”

Nick Waranoff

Nick Waranoff is a retired real estate lawyer.  

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our FacebookTwitter, and Instagram

Tim Redmond
Tim Redmond
Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. He spent much of that time as executive editor of the Bay Guardian. He is the founder of 48hills.
Sponsored link
Sponsored link

Featured

Voters recall Engardio, by huge margin

Now it's up to Lurie to appoint a D4 supe—and it won't be an easy choice

Screen Grabs: Psychedelic bro love swirls in ‘Lemurian Candidate’

Plus: Studio 8 Film Festival celebrates work from dearly departed Art Institute, Cheryl Dunye at BAMPFA, more releases.

Best of the Bay 2025 Editors’ Pick: Dani Offline

No wonder she's been featured at Noise Pop—this nouveau hip-hop vibe merchant isn't faking a thing.

More by this author

Voters recall Engardio, by huge margin

Now it's up to Lurie to appoint a D4 supe—and it won't be an easy choice

We will probably know Tuesday evening if Sup. Joel Engardio keeps his seat

Early results could tell the tale—and if the D4 supe is out, what will Lurie do?

Strange (and maybe inappropriate) actions at the Planning Commission …

... plus an attack on preservation in North Beach, and has the privatized zoo improved enough to get another $3 million? That's The Agenda for Sept. 14 to 21
Sponsored link

You might also likeRELATED