600 Foothill
Cedar Street Partners' 80-condo mixed-use building on Foothill Boulevard is the first project in Southern California fully approved under the state's Builder's Remedy, after a lengthy legal fight with the city. Construction hasn't started.
Units
80
Affordable units
About 13% of the 80 condos, deed-restricted under a density bonus housing agreement (the 2022 application proposed 20%)
Site area
1.29 acres
Details
- Address
- 600 Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
- Case number
- Vesting Tentative Tract Map 83375 (LAND-2023-0001); CUP USE-2023-0016; Tree Removal DEV-2023-0003
- Stories
- 5 stories
- Square footage
- ~128,000 sq ft, five stories
- Unit mix
- 80 residential condominiums; 16 non-serviced short-term-stay suites; ~7,300 sq ft of office
- Parking
- 192 spaces, two subterranean levels
- CEQA
- Statutorily exempt under AB 130 (Public Resources Code §21080.66)
- Replaces
- A commercial site at Foothill Boulevard and Alta Canyada Road
- Hearing body
- La Cañada Flintridge City Council
- Ground floor
- ~7,300 sq ft office
- Council vote
- 5-0
- State law
- Housing Accountability Act Builder's Remedy
An 80-unit mixed-use building is approved for Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge. It is the first project in Southern California to win full approval under the state's Builder's Remedy. The City Council gave its final vote, 5-0, in October 2025, after a lengthy legal fight with the developer. Construction hasn't started yet.
What's proposed
Cedar Street Partners plans a five-story building with 80 condominiums, 16 short-term-stay suites, and about 7,300 square feet of offices. Two levels of underground parking would hold 192 spaces. About 13% of the condos would be deed-restricted as affordable, under a density bonus housing agreement with the city.
Riley Projects designed the building. Renderings are on the architect's project page and the developer's site.
Where it stands
The approvals are final. The Planning Commission approved the use permit and tree removal in September 2025, and the council approved the tract map in October. That map is what lets the building be sold as condos. Under AB 130, a 2025 state law, the project doesn't need further environmental review. No building permit has been issued yet. The city expects groundbreaking sometime in 2026.
Why this one matters
This is the first time a Southern California city fully approved a Builder's Remedy project. For landowners elsewhere in the SGV, it shows what can happen when a city's housing plan falls out of compliance with the state. For that window, a qualifying project can go forward even if it doesn't fit the local zoning.
What this means if you live nearby
Nothing changes at the site yet. The next sign would be a building permit, then site work, which could start in 2026 if the developer's timeline holds.
How it got here
The Builder's Remedy is part of the state's Housing Accountability Act. Every city has to keep a Housing Element, its state-approved plan for where new homes can go. While that plan isn't in compliance, the city can't use its zoning to deny a housing project that sets aside enough affordable units.
Cedar Street Partners filed its application in late 2022, while La Cañada Flintridge's Housing Element wasn't certified. The city denied it in 2023, saying its plan was close enough to compliant. The developer sued. In 2024 a Los Angeles County judge ruled that the Builder's Remedy applied. In March 2025 the council chose to end its appeal rather than post a $14 million bond, and the project went through the city's normal approvals.
One piece of the case is still open, and it's about money, not the building. A judge denied the developer's request for about $6.4 million in damages from the city in October 2025, and the developer has appealed.
Timeline
- Proposed
Preliminary Builder's Remedy application submitted
Cedar Street Partners filed a preliminary application for a five-story, 80-unit mixed-use project while the city's Housing Element was found non-compliant.
Source: lcf.ca.gov - Denied
City Council denies the Builder's Remedy application
The council rejected the application, arguing its Housing Element was substantially compliant and the Builder's Remedy therefore didn't apply.
Source: lcf.ca.gov - Appealed
Developer sues the city over the denial
Cedar Street Partners filed suit alleging Housing Accountability Act violations and seeking a court order approving the project.
Source: lcf.ca.gov - Under review
Court rules the Builder's Remedy applies
LA County Superior Court partially granted the developer's petition, finding the project does qualify for the Builder's Remedy, while still requiring CEQA compliance. The city later faced a $14 million bond to keep appealing.
Source: lcf.ca.gov - Under review
City drops its appeal
Facing the $14 million bond, the City Council voted to end its court fight rather than keep contesting the ruling.
Source: lcf.ca.gov - Under review
Planning Commission approves the entitlements
The Planning Commission approved the conditional use permit and tree removal, and recommended Council approval of the tract map, finding the project statutorily exempt from CEQA under AB 130.
Source: lcf.ca.gov - Approved
City Council approves the project, 5-0
The council approved Vesting Tentative Tract Map 83375, removing one appealed condition and settling the entitlements. The conditional use permit and tree removal approval were finalized on appeal on Oct. 14.
Source: lacanadaflintridge-ca.granicus.com - Approved
Court denies the developer's damages motion
A court denied the developer's $6,386,301 damages motion against the city. The approvals themselves were unaffected.
Source: lcf.ca.gov - Approved
Developer appeals the damages ruling
The developer filed an appeal of the damages denial, which is pending. It concerns money owed, not the project's approvals.
Source: lcf.ca.gov
Team
Source (minutes): lacanadaflintridge-ca.granicus.com ↗ · retrieved · last verified
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