Gov. Newsom, AG Bonta strike back at California city’s decisions to reject housing plan

State leaders are seeking a court order punishing Huntington Beach for its two-time vote rejecting a state-required housing plan, calling for the suspension of the city’s authority to issue building permits and a court order giving the city four months to adopt a housing plan.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta are seeking a court order punishing Huntington Beach for its two-time vote rejecting a state-required housing plan, calling for the suspension of the city’s authority to issue building permits and a court order giving the city four months to adopt a housing plan.

The state motion filed Monday, April 10, amends a March 8 lawsuit over previous city actions barring duplexes and secondary housing units (called in-law units or ADUs) in single-family neighborhoods. The City Council since rescinded those bans, rendering the state lawsuit moot.

However, the council voted at its last two meetings to reject its own 1,164-page “housing element,” a state-mandated plan for construction of 13,368 new homes, including 5,845 affordable housing units. The plan is nearly 18 months late.

City officials have objected to the state’s 53-year-old housing element law as meddling in its local affairs, with Councilmember Casey McKeon urging city leaders to “stand our ground and draw a line in the sand.”

“This fight means everything to our residents’ local control and good quality of life,” McKeon said at last week’s council meeting. “This needs to be adjudicated in the courts.”

State courts have ruled in the past that the housing element statute applies to charter cities like Huntington Beach, and state leaders have vowed to use the full force of California’s laws bring the city into compliance.

“Every city and county needs to do their part to bring down the high housing and rent costs that are impacting families across this state,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will continue taking every step necessary to ensure everyone is building their fair share of housing and not flouting state housing laws at the expense of the community.”

The new court battle is a repeat bout over Surf City’s refusal to adopt a housing element.

On the one hand, the Orange County beach town is one of 99 Southern California cities and counties that have yet to adopt a state-approved housing element.

But Huntington Beach was the first and only city to get sued by the state over its refusal to maintain a state-compliant housing element.

Using new powers to sue cities without approved housing elements, Newsom instigated the state’s first housing element lawsuit in January 2019. That action came four years after the city had eliminated 413 affordable housing units from its plans.

The city and state settled the case 14 months later after the city gave in and reinstated the affordable units. The lawsuit was costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in state grants, city leaders said at the time.

A new council majority took up the gauntlet of their predecessors this year, opting to challenge new state housing laws on multiple fronts. On March 9, the city filed its own lawsuit in federal court, challenging the validity of the state’s housing element law and whether state housing laws apply to charter cities.

The city’s housing element, however, appeared to be on a path to easy adoption. A staff-supported proposal won preliminary endorsement from state housing officials.

But when it came up for a vote on March 21, the council rejected it 3-3 over a technicality. Council members balked at a required statement that the city’s need for housing took priority over the environmental impacts of construction and new housing.

The council again rejected the adoption of the housing element at its April 4 meeting, citing additional traffic and noise, degradation of wetlands, the strain on resources and other impacts.

“People don’t want an urban community here,” Mayor Tony Strickland said at the April 4 meeting. “I believe if we just went along, it will have a severe negative impact on our community’s quality of life.”

In response, the state submitted its amended lawsuit, arguing the city is violating the housing element law. The state is asking the court to give the city 120 days to adopt a state-approved housing element. It’s also seeking other potential sanctions, including a suspension of the city’s ability to issue non-residential building permits.

The housing element law requires cities and counties to adopt new housing plans periodically providing for future housing needs at all income levels. Municipalities in the six-county Southern California Association of Governments region must draft new housing plans every eight years. The latest plan for the 2021-29 planning period was due in October 2021, nearly 18 months ago.

The state, working with the association of governments, determined the region needs to build 1.3 million homes by the end of the decade, assigning 13,368 units to Huntington Beach — a goal that’s 10 times greater than in planning period ending in 2021.

Each city’s blueprint must include an inventory of future home sites to accommodate its housing mandate. Although cities and counties rely mainly on the private sector to build the housing, they are expected to “set the table” for development by eliminating constraints to development and adopting adequate zoning.

Cities and counties without “substantially compliant” housing elements face a wide array of possible sanctions, including a loss of control over local planning and building decisions, state funding cuts, state and private lawsuits and fines that can go as high as $600,000 a month.

Under the “builder’s remedy,” cities and counties without compliant housing elements must approve developments that include affordable housing, regardless of zoning, so long as they meet health, safety and environmental standards.

“California is in the midst of a housing crisis, and time and time again, Huntington Beach has demonstrated they are part of the problem,” Bonta said in a statement. “The city’s refusal last week to adopt a housing element in accordance with state law is just the latest in a string of willfully illegal actions by the city. … We’ll use every legal tool available to hold the city accountable and enforce state housing laws.”

NEW: We’re adding Huntington Beach’s refusal to adopt a Housing Element to our ongoing lawsuit against the city.

We won’t stand idly by as the City continues to willfully break state laws designed to bring crucial affordable housing to our communities. https://t.co/YfMCPrOMvs

— Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) April 10, 2023

Councilmembers seemed to anticipate the possibility of a state reaction during their last meeting.

Councilmember Dan Kalmick urged his colleagues to approve the housing element now to avoid a state takeover that could result in adoption of a housing plan absent changes made in response to citizen requests.

“We have a document that shows, in theory, we can meet that (13,368)  number, so why not pass it?” Kalmic asked at last week’s council meeting, saying the council could still pursue its lawsuit. “(If) the state rolls in here … then then we are fighting the state from a losing proposition.”

In a statement on a city website, Mayor Strickland argued the state can’t amend its original lawsuit under court procedures, saying it needs to file a separate suit over its housing element. He complained further the state is singling Huntington Beach out when there are 231 California jurisdictions without an approved housing element.

“These regular state press releases announcing legal actions against Huntington Beach may grab headlines,” Strickland’s statement said, “but they do not intimidate or deter the city.”