Los Angeles County had previously planned to add exactly 10% of the new mandate in the form of housing specifically for the homeless by the year 2025. It has also given some additional leeway to homeowners wishing to install ADUs, which can play a crucial role in meeting the state’s pressing development needs. (Current estimates have the number of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles at over 66,000.)

The state’s report also derided LA County’s development plan for its overall lack of parks programming and investments into lower-income communities. The punitive measures against the plan seems paradoxical considering the dodges certain communities have attempted in other parts of California. Officials said they will amend plans in time for the next round of funding reviews in May, but that the breakneck pace of development required to meet the new state requirements in under eight months would outstrip even North Korea in terms of its speed and practicality. 

“Rezoning the entire city in one year is infeasible,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told the LA Times. “And we don’t believe that penalty was meant to apply to jurisdictions pursuing compliance in good faith.”