Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom Secure Major Win in State’s Housing Lawsuit Against Huntington Beach

Today’s victory comes on the heels of last week’s decision by the Supreme Court of California denying the City’s petition for review

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the State secured a decision from the San Diego Superior Court requiring the City of Huntington Beach to, among other things, adopt a housing element within 120 days and restricting the City’s land use authority, effective immediately, until it does so. The City was required to submit a compliant housing element on October 15, 2021, more than four years ago. Today’s decision effectively puts an end to the City’s policy of blocking affordable housing for its residents.

On March 9, 2023, Attorney General Bonta, Governor Gavin Newsom, and California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez filed suit against the City for failing to timely adopt a compliant housing element. The State’s lawsuit sought a court order setting a 120-day deadline for the City to come into compliance and limiting the City’s permitting, zoning, and subdivision approvals until the City adopted a substantially compliant housing element — as required under state law. On May 15, 2024, the San Diego Superior Court found that the City violated California’s Housing Element Law, but its final order omitted any references to the remedies requested by the State. The State petitioned the California Fourth District Court of Appeal for an order requiring the San Diego Superior Court to provide those mandatory remedies, and the Court of Appeal granted the State’s petition. Subsequently, the City filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court of California, seeking reversal of the appellate decision. Last week, the Supreme Court of California denied the City’s petition, which returned the case to the San Diego Superior Court. Today’s order provides the relief originally requested by the State in 2023.

“After extensive proceedings in the courts, Governor Newsom, HCD Director Velasquez, and I have secured the relief that we sought all along. The City of Huntington Beach has now been ordered to adopt a compliant housing element within 120 days,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Huntington Beach is not above the law. Its leaders must comply with all our laws, including our state’s housing laws. We remain fully committed to ensuring that Huntington Beach does its part to address our state’s housing crisis. It has been squandering public money for far too long trying to shirk that responsibility.”

“Huntington Beach needs to end this pathetic NIMBY behavior," said Governor Gavin Newsom. "They are failing their own citizens by wasting time and money that could be used to create much-needed housing. No more excuses, you lost once again — it’s time to get building.”

“This decision once again reaffirms that no one is above the law, and Huntington Beach can no longer refuse to do its part to address California’s crisis of housing affordability and homelessness,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “Charter cities are not exempt from state housing law, and the few bad actors who believe so need to stop looking for a way to avoid their responsibilities.” 

In addition to requiring the City to adopt a housing element within 120 days, the San Diego Superior Court ordered the following:

• The June 20, 2024 order finding that the City is out of compliance with the Housing Element Law remains effective for purposes of the penalty provisions of Gov. Code section 65585(l), which provides for escalating penalties after one year of non-compliance with a court order, culminating potentially in the appointment of a receiver.
• The City must fast track the review and approval of Builder's Remedy projects.
• The City must fast track the review and approval of projects that would have been entitled to by-right treatment if the City had adopted its draft housing element in 2023.
• The City cannot use existing land use policies to deny projects that would have been entitled to by-right treatment in its draft housing element.
• The City's permitting, rezoning, and subdivision authority is otherwise suspended for sites identified in its draft housing element.  

In response to the State’s lawsuit, the City of Huntington Beach filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the certain California housing laws. The City’s lawsuit was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s dismissal, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit then denied the City’s petition for rehearing en banc. The City has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the aforementioned rulings, and that request remains ongoing.