SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom has authorized the state to sue Huntington Beach to force the Orange County coastal city to plan more affordable housing, saying cities that refuse to try to meet construction targets “will be held to account.”
Newsom, who announced the lawsuit Friday, said Huntington Beach has willfully refused to meet a state mandate to provide new housing for low-income people.
The lawsuit is the first under a 2017 law that authorized state housing officials to report cities and counties to the attorney general for legal action if they do not adequately plan for housing construction.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra plans to file the suit in Orange County Superior Court. Huntington Beach officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The action sends a stark message to communities like Huntington Beach that have not followed the state’s mandate requiring them to adopt a blueprint every five to eight years demonstrating how they will plan for regional housing needs for people across all income levels.
At least four dozen California cities at the start of last year did not have state approval for their housing blueprints, according to a tracking report by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The lawsuit against Huntington Beach advances an aggressive statewide agenda for boosting housing construction that Newsom has set in the first weeks of his administration.
Posted by Steve Sinai
2 comments:
Is Pacifica among the 4 dz?
Pacifica cannot afford state law suit and loss of gas tax revenue.It will be like district elections:Comply or go bankrupt
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