The California Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to review an appellate ruling in the state’s favor compelling the city of Huntington Beach to comply with the state’s affordable housing requirements.
City officials argued they were not required to fulfill housing mandates from the state because Huntington Beach is a charter city, allowing for greater local authority.
The state sued in March 2023, and in May 2024 a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled the city violated the California Housing Element Law. The ruling, however, did not include mandate remedies the state sought.
Appellate court justices later found that the lower court erred when a 120-day deadline was omitted from the ruling. The appeals court directed the San Diego judge to enter a new order providing the state’s requested remedies and to “expeditiously” resolve all remaining issues in the case.
State officials issued statements welcoming the decision.
“Huntington Beach needs to end this pathetic NIMBY behavior,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “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.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the city has “run out of excuses in our state’s courts. It was required to submit a compliant housing element on Oct. 15, 2021, more than four years ago. Rather than follow the law, the city has been squandering public money to avoid building its fair share of housing.
“We promised that we would hold Huntington Beach accountable, and we have successfully done so at every turn to date. Our case now returns to the trial court, where we will continue to ensure that the City answers for its unlawful actions,” Bonta added.
“This decision 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,” state Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez said. “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.”
The city also issued a statement in following the court ruling:
“The California Supreme Court on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, declined to review the Court of Appeal’s interim ruling in the state’s housing-element lawsuit. This result is not surprising: The Supreme Court rarely grants review while a case is still developing in the trial court, and major legal questions remain unresolved, including the conflict between the Housing Element Law and (the California Environmental Quality Act) and the Housing Department’s uneven enforcement.
“The city sought review after the Court of Appeal’s interim decision declined to address the CEQA conflict, leaving the city in a no-win situation: facing penalties unless it adopts a housing element, even though CEQA prohibits adoption until environmental review is completed and lawful findings can be made. Because the litigation continues, Wednesday’s denial simply means the Supreme Court is not considering review at this time. The city will continue to vigorously defend its environmental stewardship, its charter-city authority and its right to fair and evenhanded enforcement of state housing laws in the Superior Court.”
Huntington Beach officials filed a federal lawsuit against the state, claiming housing laws were unconstitutional, but lost at the district court an appellate levels. The city’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is pending.
