in april 2015, a developer submitted an application to tear down a dilapidated building at 1310 haskell street in berkeley, and replace it with three two-story homes. in july 2016, the berkeley city council voted 5-0 (with 4 abstentions) to deny the proposal. the city was sued by the sf bay area renters federation, who argued that denying the application violated california's housing accountability act (haa). in october 2016, the city settled the lawsuit by agreeing to reconsider the proposal.