A controversial housing law that abolished single-family zoning across California has been ruled unconstitutional by a Los Angeles County judge — but the narrow ruling is likely to be appealed by the state.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 allows single-family homeowners to split their lots in two and build two homes on each lot — allowing up to four units in each lot previously zoned for just one.

Five Southern California cities — Redondo Beach, Carson, Torrance, and Whittier and Del Mar — sued the state in 2022, claiming the law was unconstitutional because it interfered with their local authority over land use and zoning.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court judge’s ruling, issued on Monday, means that SB 9 can’t be applied in these five cities. It remains unclear for now whether the law remains valid in other cities.

The attorney general’s office is reviewing the decision and “will consider all options in defense of SB 9,” it said in a statement to this news organization.

Housing advocates worry the court ruling chips away at a key piece of legislation intended to increase density around the state.

“The writing is on the wall for this particular court ruling to upend future SB 9 processing,” said Rafa Sonnenfeld, policy director at the pro-housing group YIMBY Action.

UC Davis law professor Chris Elmendorf called it “the most ridiculous opinion that any court has issued in a housing-related case.”

At the heart of the case is local authority and what gives the state the right to interfere. In California, the constitution requires that state laws impeding cities’ local control must demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the legislature’s stated intention and the design of the law.

In the case of SB 9, that stated intention was improving housing affordability.

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