Challenges to housing and community-serving projects.

Assembly Member Bonta's legislation expands California's civil procedure requirements for legal challenges to affordable housing developments, extending them to include a new category of community-serving projects. The measure builds upon existing law that allows defendants to request security deposits from plaintiffs who file lawsuits that could delay qualifying housing developments.

Under the proposed changes, courts may require plaintiffs challenging community-serving projects to furnish an undertaking of up to $500,000 as security for potential costs and damages. The bill defines these projects as those providing essential community services - including healthcare facilities, food banks, domestic violence support services, public spaces, and educational programs - when developed in conjunction with affordable housing. To qualify, projects must demonstrate a direct connection to affordable housing through physical proximity, infrastructure improvements, or services specifically benefiting residents.

The legislation maintains current provisions allowing courts to reduce or waive the undertaking requirement if plaintiffs demonstrate undue economic hardship. It also preserves the requirement that defendants must show the lawsuit lacks merit and was filed in bad faith or to deliberately delay development. For housing projects that later modify plans to remove affordable units, developers remain liable to plaintiffs for undertaking costs.