Introduced in January 2007, AB 212 was a bill relating to the Budget Act of 2007. In May the bill passed the Assembly, 44-01, and was sent to the Senate.

On June 27, 2007 MWH Development filed an application to build a 229 unit housing development on the Verdugo Hills Golf Course in Tujunga. Within weeks Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes [AD #39] became the new author of AB 212, filing its first amendment on July 17. The restructured AB 212 shifted from a non-descript budget bill into a very specific zoning ordinance which, if passed, would directly benefit MWH Development.

Subsequent amendments in 2007 and 2008 added an urgency clause, highly unusual for this kind of bill; narrowed its use to residential property; and limited its application to the City of Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles City Council became aware of the bill in May 2008. City Councilmember Wendy Greuel sponsored a resolution in opposition of AB 212. On May 23 the resolution passed the city council, 13-0. The resolution emphasized that the bill violated the city's "Home Rule" and inserted State authority over local control of land use. AB 212 would force the City of Los Angeles to grant a zoning change within the parameters set by a current zoning law, even if that law is not in compliance with the general plan.

The Senate Local Government Committee was to hear the bill on June 4, 2008; however, Assemblymember Fuentes requested a delay and it was reset for June 18.   In the meantime, Greuel continued a well-coordinated effort to apprise Sacramento lawmakers, while newspaper articles brought public scrutiny revealing the bill's questionable evolution. On June 9 Fuentes pulled the bill altogether.

NOTE:   If AB 212 had passed the Senate it would have been returned to the Assembly for consideration because it was not the same bill that body passed in May 2007.

Track the History of AB 212, Caifornia Legislative Information Website
Senate Local Government Committee Analysis of AB 212, May 6, 2008
“Council may fight bill to limit L.A. power”, Ron Orlov, Daily News, May 23, 2008
Resolution passed by the Los Angeles City Council, May 23, 2008
“AB 212 and the small and funny world of Felipe Fuentes”, Ron Kaye LA, May 26, 2008
“Developer sponsored land-use bill”, Kerry Cavanaugh, Los Angeles Daily News, June 4, 2008
“Assembly bill is tailored for LA developer”, Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2008
“Editorial: Death of a bad bill”, Los Angeles Daiy News, June 10, 2008
“Fuentes shelves land use bill”, Kerry Cavanaugh, Los Angeles Daily News, June 10, 2008
“Bill to put homes on Verdugo Hills Golf Course is killed by its author”, Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, June 10, 2008
“Verdugo Hills bill gets pulled”, Jeremy Oberstein, Glendale News-Press, June 11, 2008