Santa Barbara Developer Sues in Federal Court, Claiming It Is Singled Out By New State Law

William Fulton
Nov 9, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Jan 15

A Santa Barbara developer with a pending builder’s remedy project has sued the state in federal court, claiming a new law violates the developer’s constitutional rights. The developer’s lawsuit also names the City of Santa Barbara as a defendant, claiming that the city’s overlay zone does not conform with state Housing Element law. The overlay claim builds on a recent appellate court ruling from Redondo Beach. (Previous CP&DR coverage about that ruling can be found here.)

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