Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Housing and Community Development issued final warnings Wednesday to 15 municipalities that have failed to adhere to affordable housing law requirements.
The cities and counties are more than 60 days away from securing a certified housing element, according to the governor’s office. They have 30 days to respond to this week’s Notices of Violation before HCD takes further action, including referral to Attorney General Rob Bonta for likely litigation.
The 15 municipalities that received Notices of Violation this week are the city of Montclair located in San Bernardino County, along with Atwater, Avenal, California City, Corcoran, Escalon, Half Moon Bay, Hanford, Kings County, Lemoore, Merced County, Oakdale, Patterson, Ridgecrest and Turlock.
HCD has previously entered court-enforced agreements with the Southern California cities of San Bernardino, Coronado, Fullerton, Malibu, La Habra Heights, Artesia and Norwalk. The state is in active litigation against Huntington Beach over housing law compliance.
“I’m disappointed on behalf of the state and the people of California that after years of effort, we still have communities that aren’t meeting the needs of their residents,” Newsom said in a statement. “There’s no carve-out here. No community gets a pass when it comes to addressing homelessness or creating more housing access. We’ll keep pushing forward by enforcing the law, fighting NIMBY actions, and holding local governments accountable, because every Californian deserves a place to call home.”
Montclair officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a February statement after a U.S. Supreme Court refusal to hear Huntington Beach’s appeal in the ongoing legal battle with the state, Mayor Casey McKeon said, “The voters … elected us to defend our local control over municipal affairs, especially housing, and that’s what we will continue to do relentlessly. Even though this path has ended, other paths will always exist for us to continue to rigorously fight to defend the Huntington Beach residents’ local control.”
Huntington Beach officials added that they “will continue to vigorously defend (the city’s) environmental stewardship, its charter-city authority, and its right to fair and evenhanded enforcement of State housing laws in the Superior Court.”
Under California housing law, every municipality must adopt a plan for affordable housing, called a housing element, that demonstrates intentions for meeting regional housing needs for residents at all income levels. Local officials must submit housing elements to HCD for review.
State officials said that with HCD’s guidance and technical assistance, along with enforcement, 92% of California communities have complied with housing element requirements in the sixth cycle.
Wednesday’s notices to the 15 cities and counties that remain out of compliance begin a final push to ensure that every municipality in the state has a plan to support affordable housing.
“These stand out from the 480 jurisdictions throughout California that have adopted a final housing element and related zoning changes necessary to comply with state law, and an additional 22 that are expected to finalize their plans within the next two months,” according to Newsom’s office.
The 15 municipalities that received notices are more than two years behind schedule and lack a path to compliance within 60 days, which officials said indicates noncompliance and a lack of intent to adhere to state housing law.
“If any of the cities and counties on track to complete the steps necessary for compliance fail to do so within the next 60 days, they, too, will receive a Notice of Violation and may face a lawsuit,” state officials said.
Accountability measures
HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit sent out the violation notices. Newsom established the unit in 2021 to try to ensure that every community is meeting its obligations to plan for housing and follow state housing laws. In 2024, he expanded the unit’s oversight to also include monitoring cities’ and counties’ efforts to address homelessness.
According to the governor’s office, the HAU has “unlocked” 12,486 housing units, including more than 3,644 affordable dwellings, that may otherwise have been tied up in the local planning process.
The HAU has taken more than 1,200 accountability actions so far and secured 10 stipulated judgments and settlement agreements. HCD is also suing Anaheim, Elk Grove, La Canada Flintridge, Norwalk and Huntington Beach and has secured an agreement or favorable court ruling in all five cases.
The public can track how communities are addressing mental health, homelessness and housing on the state’s website accountability.ca.gov.