California Land Use Blog
JMBM Partner Daniel Freedman, Co-Chair of the firm’s Housing Strategy and Litigation Group, recently appeared as an invited witness before the California State Assembly’s Housing and Community Development Committee in support of Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva’s AB 1061. The bill addresses the increasing misuse of historic preservation laws as a tool to block housing development and undermine state housing mandates.
In his testimony, Freedman shared insights drawn from over a decade of legal experience and involvement in hundreds of historic preservation-related matters across California. “For those who know how to use it, historic preservation is one of the easiest tools to stop housing,” he noted, describing the growing trend of using vague or subjective standards to designate buildings and neighborhoods as historic—regardless of actual significance. His remarks underscored the need for legislative reform to prevent historic designations from being used to frustrate otherwise legal housing projects, including lot splits and higher density developments otherwise allowed under state law.
Freedman’s invitation to speak reflects his emerging role as a statewide authority on the intersection of historic preservation and housing law. As cities across California work to implement their housing elements and comply with state mandates, his experience offers critical perspective on the challenges of balancing preservation goals with the urgent need for housing. A video of the full hearing is available here.