A San Clemente-based housing developer claims a pro-housing trade group is attempting to block his $130 million senior housing project.
San Clemente-based infill developer Nick Buchanan has approvals to build a 180-unit senior housing development on his shopping center in Laguna Hills. But the neighbor next to the property, the Orange County Realtors, has derailed those plans, Buchanan said.
And he’s fighting back. Buchanan’s La Paz Village Investors filed a lawsuit Jan. 7 in Orange County Superior Court, accusing the real estate trade group of unauthorized construction, staging construction equipment, excavating asphalt and blocking access to the developer’s shopping center along La Paz Road, according to the complaint.
“This was a project we tried very hard to work through collaboratively,” Buchanan, a manager of La Paz Village Investors, told the Business Journal. “I just want to sit in a room with them and figure out how we move forward so we can build this important housing project.”
The Orange County Realtors did not return the Business Journal’s request for comment.
Founded in 1948, the trade and housing advocacy group says it represents 17,000 members and is one of the largest real estate associations in California.
Builder’s Remedy
The dispute centers on the redevelopment of La Paz Village, a four-acre shopping center at 25250 to 25758 La Paz Road, located a few blocks south of the San Diego (5) Freeway.
Buchanan used the Builder’s Remedy—a provision of California’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA)—to get it through the city’s approval process.
Passed in 1982, the HAA’s builder’s remedy allows a developer to streamline a housing project without obtaining certain city approvals if they include affordable housing in their proposals and the city is not compliant with the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation or RHNA.
The legislation’s intent is to pressure cities to comply with their housing elements and to give developers certainty in their affordable housing projects.
Buchanan’s senior housing project reserves 10% for affordable housing.
In September, the Laguna Hills City Council reluctantly approved the development on a 3-1 vote, with some members speaking out against it, but it was hamstrung by state approvals.
Laguna Hills Councilperson Joshua Sweeney brought up La Cañada Flintridge’s failed challenge of a builder’s remedy project—an 80-home mixed use development from Cedar Street Partners.
Facing pressure from the state, La Cañada dismissed its challenge after a judge ordered it to post a $14 million appeal bond.
“No California city has successfully defeated a builder’s remedy challenge, and the court consistently upholds the HAA’s protection, forcing compliance, approvals or settlements that drain public coffers and diverts funds from our schools, seniors, and our streets,” said Sweeney during a September city council meeting.
He added the consequences are stiff—fines of up to $50,000 per unit, lawyer fees along with other penalties.
“For us, denial could mirror La Cañada’s $14 million (bond threat), bankrupting the essentials that our community relies on,” he said.
Sweeney did not return a request for comment.
Buchanan purchased the shopping center in 2022 for $23.5 million, according to CoStar.
He immediately planned to redevelop it as housing. His initial plan was to build 50 townhomes, but the city rejected it before he pivoted it to senior housing.
“There’s just not enough land in Southern California anymore,” said Buchanan. “If you want to provide housing, you’re redeveloping old shopping centers or office buildings. That’s what this is.”
According to Buchanan, Orange County Realtors owns the neighboring property and holds access easements across portions of the site.
He said the trade association was warm to the idea of the housing project—initially.
“We told them we’d build the access into the new project and even widen it,” Buchanan said. “All of these things were solvable.”
The lawsuit alleges the conflict escalated in October 2025, when construction crews began digging up asphalt and preparing to pour concrete for a wall along an alley shared with the shopping center.
“They dug up our property without asking, without insurance, without indemnification,” Buchanan said. “That creates liability for us as a landlord.”
Buchanan said a city building inspector red-tagged the site after finding out the contractor did not have permission to work on the developer’s property.
He claims construction activity continued afterward, prompting the lawsuit.
Buchanan said the Orange County Realtors officials have since ghosted him.
With housing so scarce across California, Buchanan filed the lawsuit to proceed with his redevelopment plans.
The 180-unit luxury senior housing project would provide independent living units for seniors, underground parking and amenities such as a gym, theater and rooftop deck.
According to city staff, the five-story project will comprise studios, one- and two-bedroom units, and more than 250 parking spaces.
Ten percent of the units are designated for very low-income seniors, Buchanan said.
“This is exactly the kind of housing California says it wants,” he said. “I honestly don’t understand why they wouldn’t sit down and resolve it.”
What is Builder’s Remedy?
“Builder’s remedy” stems from California’s Housing Accountability Act and was strengthened under SB 330, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019.
Every eight years, cities must submit a certified Housing Element to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) showing how they will accommodate future population growth under the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA.
If a city fails to obtain state approval, its housing plan is considered out of compliance.
When this happens, a developer can submit a builder’s remedy application to the city and submit a residential or mixed-use project, even if local zoning does not allow it, as long as the project includes a percentage reserved for affordable housing.
The city faces a strict timeline and can deny the project only if it proves the project poses a risk to health, safety or the environment.
If the city denies a project, despite its meeting state building standards, the developer can file a lawsuit.
A court can impose fines starting at $10,000 per unit and award punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.
For example, in La Cañada Flintridge, a Los Angeles County Superior Court required the city to post a $14 million bond to continue appealing a builder’s remedy lawsuit. The city eventually dropped the case.
