The ruling affirmed homeowners’ right to timely ADU approvals under California’s streamlined permitting laws.
A recent appellate ruling has now reopened his lawsuit, finding that California’s rules were designed to protect homeowners from precisely the kind of delays he says he experienced. Adding a second home on an existing residential property is often presented as one of California’s simplest answers to its housing shortage. But for one homeowner in Palos Verdes Estates, the effort to build an accessory dwelling unit became a years-long permitting battle.
Shi first applied in 2020 for permission to construct an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on his property in the City of Palos Verdes Estates, according to the Judicial Branch of California. The Judicial Branch of California notes that the applicable rules also require a permitting agency to approve or deny a completed application within 60 days when an existing dwelling is already on the property. He planned to complete the additional dwelling alongside construction of his family home. California law requires qualifying ADU applications to be considered through a ministerial process, without discretionary review or a hearing. He subsequently filed a lawsuit against the city under California’s Government Claims Act, arguing that the state’s ADU laws imposed a mandatory duty on local governments and that the city’s failure to comply with that duty caused his losses. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge initially sided with the city. The trial court concluded that the ADU laws were primarily intended to address California’s housing shortage by making it easier to create additional homes, rather than protecting individual homeowners from financial losses caused by permitting delays.
Appeals court revives the case
In its October 23, 2026 published opinion, the court reversed the lower court’s judgment, according to the Judicial Branch of California. The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Four, reached a different conclusion.