Yes In My Back Yard Awarded $250,000 Grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to Advance Health Equity Through Pro-Housing Policy Implementation

“Housing policy is health policy,” said YIMBY ED Sonja Trauss.

PLAINSBORO, NEW JERSEY - Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) is proud to announce it has received a $250,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime.

The grant is being awarded under RWJF’s Reimagining Land Use and Zoning for Health Equity call for proposals, which is funding 10 organizations to address the role that exclusionary land use and zoning policies play in driving health inequities. Through this program, RWJF is supporting YIMBY’s efforts to challenge the deeply entrenched systems that restrict access to affordable housing, especially in America’s healthiest and highest-resource areas.

YIMBY will focus on scaling the implementation of pro-housing laws (such as state-level zoning reform, streamlining mandates, and fair housing enforcement) in cities and neighborhoods that have historically deployed local land use controls to limit new housing and exclude lower- income people. These exclusionary communities consistently rank among the healthiest in the country, yet remain some of the most inaccessible due to restrictive zoning and high housing costs.

“This grant is a powerful recognition that housing policy is health policy,” said Sonja Trauss, Executive Director of YIMBY. “By ensuring pro-housing laws are implemented in healthy, high- resource areas that have blocked new housing, we can begin to undo decades of exclusion and ensure people from all backgrounds have access to America’s healthiest zipcodes.” RWJF’s Land Use and Zoning initiative acknowledges that restrictive zoning has long been a structural barrier to health equity by limiting access to safe, stable housing, well-resourced schools, parks, and economic opportunity.

With this support from RWJF, YIMBY will expand its model of implementing state housing law through monitoring, education, and enforcement. A growing body of research, including YIMBY’s own research, reveals that state housing law doesn’t turn into new homes without focused implementation efforts. This project will particularly focus on implementing housing law in jurisdictions that have the strongest life expectancies and health outcomes but have an entrenched history of blocking new housing.

*Support for this program is provided in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

YIMBY Law Sues Cupertino Twice for Illegally Blocking New Homes

San Francisco, CA— YIMBY Law has filed two lawsuits against the city of Cupertino to defend new housing proposals the city illegally denied. YIMBY Law argues that the city violated California’s Housing Accountability Act by denying two proposals for new housing. Both proposals reserve at least 20% of the homes for subsidized affordable housing. These legal actions aim to ensure Cupertino follows California housing law and allows for the minimum number of homes required by the state. 

The two housing proposals defended by YIMBY Law have faced numerous roadblocks in the application process, and both fall under the Housing Accountability Act’s “Builder’s Remedy” provision, which allows more homes to be built—with affordability requirements—when cities do not comply with Housing Element law. The city claimed that regardless of how many revisions they request in the application, the builder must respond to all of them within 90 days of the first revision request. In these cases, even though the projects are not required to comply with all of the city’s zoning rules, the city illegally demanded that the developers show how they complied with those rules anyway.

“Cupertino has long been a bad actor when it comes to blocking new housing, which is especially egregious considering its status in the global economy as the heart of Silicon Valley,” said Sonja Trauss, Executive Director of YIMBY Law. “We thought suing them the first time would get them back on track, but clearly they need a stronger message. YIMBY Law is here to deliver the message until it sticks. Cupertino must do its part—just like every other city in California—to end the housing shortage and allow the number of homes needed in the community.”

According to a 2015 estimate from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, California is short approximately 2.7 million homes. Recent laws advocated for and passed with the support of YIMBY Action chapters across the state aim to help close the gap and ensure there are enough homes available at every income level. These laws bolster the enforcement of state-mandated housing plans (Housing Elements), adding consequences and workarounds to ensure that cities allow much-needed homes to be added to their communities.

Cupertino is one of many cities that have missed Housing Element deadlines, and remains one of the cities most resistant to allowing more homes. As the location of Apple’s headquarters, Cupertino is one of the most exclusive and expensive communities in the state, with a staggering median household income of $231,139. This is due to the city and its affluent residents artificially restricting the number, types, and price points of the homes in the community.

“Cupertino essentially wants to ask for an unlimited number of updates and changes, all of which have to be submitted to the city within 90 days of the city's first request for more information,” said Gillian Pressman, Managing Director at YIMBY Law and YIMBY Action. “This would allow a city to ask for more work, such as a change to a large study, just hours before the end of the 90 day period. It's absurd and unrealistic. They’re clearly doing this to try and get out of building homes, just like they’ve been doing for decades.”

The state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has already warned other anti-housing cities that these types of restrictions are illegal. In February 2025, HCD issued guidance to Los Gatos to inform them that their similar restrictions are incorrect. Additionally, HCD issued two similar Notices of Violation to Beverly Hills in August and December of 2024. In all of these examples, cities have been told that they cannot arbitrarily claim an application is incomplete. Cupertino, YIMBY Law argues, should be held to the same standard.

“The law is on our side, and so are the people of California who struggle under the impacts of the housing shortage,” said Jae Hendrix, Communications Director at YIMBY Law and YIMBY Action. “Now it’s time for Cupertino to do the right thing so we can stop suing them and we can all get to work doing the right thing: advocating for, permitting, and building more homes for people at all income levels.”

YIMBY Law will continue to defend housing proposals that are illegally denied so that housing laws are followed, more homes are built, and housing becomes affordable and equitable. In the cases against Cupertino, YIMBY Law looks forward to successfully defending the homes that have been illegally denied.

YIMBY Law Files Lawsuit Against Los Angeles, Argues City Must Allow More Homes to be Built Post-Fire

Los Angeles, CA— YIMBY Law, along with Californians for Homeownership, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles arguing that the city must increase capacity for more homes in order to comply with state law. The lawsuit argues the city has not done enough—even with its recently passed Citywide Housing Incentive Program (CHIP) program—to account for homes needed at every income level, urging city officials to allow enough homes to be built. This lawsuit comes in the aftermath of multiple devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, which have left thousands in need of new homes and increased demand for housing across the city.

“Angelenos are expecting their government to deliver the housing and infrastructure they need to thrive—and that was promised by the Housing Element process,” said Sonja Trauss, Executive Director at YIMBY Law. “Los Angeles city government needs to take this seriously, especially after such devastating fires ravaged the county so recently. We need to rebuild quickly and efficiently.”

“The City of Los Angeles has pulled a bait-and-switch on the residents, advocates, and state regulators that supported its high-quality housing plans,” said Matthew Gelfand, Counsel at Californians for Homeownership. “Three years ago, the city attained state certification and avoided legal challenges to its housing element by making a strong commitment to revise zoning rules citywide. Now it has almost completely reneged on that commitment.”

In California, cities are required to create and implement a housing plan (called a Housing Element) every eight years based on projected population growth, job opportunities, and other factors in each community. Los Angeles created a plan that the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) certified, but the city did not follow through on the rezoning process required to implement it.

In their Housing Element, Los Angeles planned to upzone large areas of the city in approximately 19 community-based plans. Instead, LA has made only minor progress. As one step forward, the recently passed CHIP program makes it easier to build certain kinds of homes. While CHIP does allow more homes within the city, the lawsuit argues that this plan is insufficient as it creates an incentive program rather than changing the city’s base zoning. While incentive programs can be useful, they are insufficient to achieve the promises made in their Housing Element. YIMBY Law sent letters in August and September of 2024 encouraging the city to pass and implement the boldest version of CHIP, while also reminding officials that CHIP would be insufficient to create as many homes as needed. YIMBY Los Angeles, a volunteer-run chapter of YIMBY Action, has also engaged in significant advocacy efforts in LA. They have written letters and met with city staff and officials to urge the city to allow more homes.

Zoning laws outline when and how different types of buildings can be built in a community. Historically, restrictive zoning has blocked much-needed homes from being built in Los Angeles, all while housing demand has continued to grow. Therefore, Los Angeles must adjust its zoning requirements to meet the needs of those who live and work within the community.

“The recent fires in LA make this issue all the more urgent,” said Leora Tanjuatco Ross, California Director at YIMBY Action and organizer for YIMBY Los Angeles. “We don’t just need to rebuild. We need to add more homes than we’ve ever had before. Angelenos deserve housing abundance and affordability, and this lawsuit will help us get there.”
YIMBY Law, along with YIMBY Los Angeles (a YIMBY Action chapter), will continue to monitor Los Angeles’ housing decisions to ensure the city allows the number of homes the community needs. At any time, Los Angeles can make this lawsuit irrelevant by following through on the rezoning it has committed to in its Housing Element. YIMBY Law hopes they choose this to follow the law and allow more homes for the people of Southern California.