The Open Philanthropy Project awarded a grant of $300,000 over two years to the California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund (CaRLA) (now CalHDF) for general support.
CaRLA is a nascent advocacy organization that intends to litigate and advocate against regulatory barriers to building housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonja Trauss, the organization’s cofounder, has been successful in some past efforts at mobilizing the public on the subject of land use reform (a focus area of the Open Philanthropy Project).
Initially, the main strategy CaRLA intends to follow is to pursue litigation against municipalities that restrict the construction of new housing despite laws that give developers the right to build. CaRLA may also undertake advocacy activities such as developing educational resources and/or hosting educational events about housing in the Bay Area, and coordinating local residents to attend hearings regarding proposed housing projects. The Open Philanthropy Project believes that CaRLA presents a good opportunity to grow the field of advocacy-oriented land use reform groups.