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Politics Nov 02, 2024
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The clash between the state and some Southern California cities over affordable housing continued this week with a federal court dismissing Huntington Beach’s lawsuit and La Habra Heights agreeing to develop a housing element compliant with state law.
On Wednesday the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision was the latest in a legal battle that began in March 2023 when the state sued Huntington Beach for violating state housing laws. The city then sued the state in federal court, claiming that requiring cities to build more residential units was unconstitutional.
“Yet another court has slapped down Huntington Beach’s cynical attempt to prevent the state from enforcing our housing laws,” Newsom said in a statement. “Huntington Beach officials’ continued efforts to advance plainly unlawful NIMBY policies are failing their own citizens — by wasting time and taxpayer dollars that could be used to create much-needed housing. No more excuses — every city must follow state law and do its part to build more housing.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement he was “pleased that yet another court has emphatically rejected Huntington Beach’s attempt exempt itself from state housing laws. While the city has been wasting the public’s time and money pursuing this meritless lawsuit, its neighboring communities — along with every Californian struggling to keep a roof over their heads or wondering where they’re going to sleep tonight — need Huntington Beach to step up and adopt a housing plan without further delay.”
Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates said he will seek an “en banc rehearing” of the case by all of the appeals court’s 29 judges, which could overturn the three-judge panel’s ruling. If that fails, the city could petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
“Based on the hearing, I’m not surprised by the decision,” Gates said in an email to the Pasadena Independent. “What I am surprised by is the brevity of the decision, and, that the decision ignores an entire body of decades of law that holds Charter Cities are NOT political subdivisions of the State. Because of this, the 9th Circuit’s reliance on the South Lake Tahoe and Burbank cases is error — as those did concern political subdivisions.
“Because of this error, we’ll Petition for En Banc rehearing,” Gates said. “It’s such an important case, we’ll take it to the U.S. Supreme Court if need be.”
The court issued its opinion Oct. 21, rejecting the city’s claim that as a charter municipality it has greater authority than a general law municipality to act outside of legal boundaries set by state lawmakers.
The appellate panel affirmed a November 2023 ruling by U.S. District Judge Fred Slaughter.
“The city argues that our standing bar does not apply because Huntington Beach is a charter city, which it claims is not a ‘political subdivision'” of the state, according to the appeals court opinion. “No matter how California categorizes charter cities, they remain subordinate political bodies, not sovereign entities.”
The court also opined that the city did not have legal standing to challenge the state in federal court, and the judges also quashed a constitutional claim by Councilman Tony Strickland and Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark.
The council members “do not explain how they suffered a constitutional injury absent their roles as local officials,” according to the court. “So while the city officials retain personal free speech rights, they cannot invoke those rights to avoid executing `laws within their charge.'”
According to the city’s lawsuit, the state’s requirement for affordable housing would result in approximately 40,000 new high-density units in Huntington Beach over the next several years.
Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns had harsh words for the governor.
“Newsom is an tyrant,” he said in an email to the Pasadena Independent. “With the population of HB projected to decrease, as is California’s, and an increase in housing already projected to increase, why is more housing needed? I have never heard an explanation from Newsom or his Administration to this question. Is he trying to ruin capitalism within California?
“If there is a housing ‘shortage,’ why is (the Newsom administration) letting an unbelievable and uncountable number of illegal entries into our state and country?” Burns said. “Like the homeless Newsom created ‘crisis,’ this is another Newson scam to grab more power and to enrich himself and/or his cronies. He is shameless in the brazen push he is making California move toward Socialism/Communism.”
Councilman Dan Kalmick said he didn’t think the Supreme Court would take up the case “because it does not have national importance,” he told City News Service, adding that the opinion came “very fast, which should tell you something.”
Kalmick said additional appeals are a “fool’s errand when there are political solutions, not legal solutions to the issues being brought.”
Burns said “the courts should recognize and respect the City of Huntington Beach to self-govern and to let us have local control as outlined in the Constitution of California. Newsom should also respect our disrespect for him and leave Huntington Beach alone.”
The appeals court’s decision filing is available online.
La Habra Heights
On Friday, Newsom and Bonta announced the state has entered into a stipulated judgment with La Habra Heights, putting the city on an hastened schedule to submit a compliant housing element
The new plan must create 244 units, with at least 164 affordable for low- or very-low-income households.
“No more excuses — every community has a responsibility to create housing and to help reduce homelessness,” Newsom said again in a statement. “I am pleased that La Habra Heights has come to the table and agreed to meet their housing goals for a community that desperately needs more affordable homes.”
Bonta said the city “has done the right thing. Instead of continuing to skirt California’s housing laws, it will finally be complying with its legal obligation to plan for 244 housing units. My office will not let up: no matter the size of the city or county, we will not rest until every local government in California plans for the future and does its part to tackle our housing crisis.”
La Habra Heights city officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
La Habra Heights is a “high opportunity jurisdiction,” according to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and California Department of Housing and Community Development. That designation indicates access to good schools, less pollution and jobs, which all factors that impact long-term success for families with children.
Currently La Habra Heights has only single-family homes, no multifamily housing and no affordable units, state officials said. The deadline for the city to approve a compliant housing element was October 2021.
“After repeated attempts to assist the city to come into compliance,” the state Housing Accountability Unit issued a Notice of Violation on March 19. HCD and the Attorney General’s Office then worked to reach the compliance agreement with La Habra Heights.
State officials said that until La Habra Heights fulfills obligations spelled out in the agreement, the city will be subject to the “Builder’s Remedy” and can’t refuse to allow certain affordable housing projects. The city also remains ineligible for state housing and homelessness funding.
The state has now entered into five agreements over housing element compliance. The other cities are San Bernardino, Coronado, Malibu and Fullerton.
“This latest agreement is a key example of why it is so important that every city, big and small, is held accountable for doing its fair share to address the statewide housing need,” HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez said in a statement. “When La Habra Heights adopts a compliant housing element, it will — for the first time ever — make land available for multifamily and affordable housing, creating a path to opportunity for more families in this high-resource community.”
State officials said governments “must take deliberate action to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing — combating disparities resulting from past patterns of segregation. Increasing supply of multifamily housing expands access to fair housing for lower-income and historically disadvantaged groups, in turn fostering more inclusive communities.”
Since Newsom took office in 2019, the state has spent $40 billion to stimulate housing construction. The state has also invested more than $27 billion to assist communities in addressing homelessness.
According to Newsom’s office, he championed the creation of HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit to make sure local governments “fulfill their legal responsibilities to plan and permit their fair share of housing.” Officials said this focus on accountability has partially led to a 15-year high in housing starts statewide.
Since its 2021 establishment, the Housing Accountability Unit has supported the development of 7,513 housing units, including 2,765 affordable units by doing enforcement actions and by working with cities and counties to ensure compliance with state law.
Updated Nov. 4, 2024, 9:17 a.m.
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