In April, the Los Angeles Superior Court raised concerns when it issued a potentially expansive injunction prohibiting the City of Los Angeles (the “City”) from applying certain portions of its Ordinance Number 179681 (the “Implementing Ordinance”) granting density bonuses and other incentives to qualifying residential projects that include certain levels of affordable housing units. Last week, however, the Superior Court clarified its order by narrowing the scope of its injunction. While subject to further reconsideration and appeal, the Superior Court’s recent ruling has clarified that projects granted incentives under the Implementing Ordinance, which were subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), are not within the scope of the injunction. The injunction only applies narrowly to those projects that received certain incentives in excess of the State of California’s guidelines, through a ministerial procedure and without CEQA review.

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