Recent data analysis indicates that California’s state-level housing reforms, particularly those pertaining to accessory dwelling units (ADUs), are demonstrably altering local government practices concerning housing production.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom initiated legal action against five California municipalities—Calexico, Costa Mesa, Half Moon Bay, Ridgecrest, and Turlock—for alleged non-compliance with the state’s Housing Element Law, escalating efforts to enforce housing planning requirements amid California’s persistent housing crisis.
Three pro-housing organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging San Francisco’s newly adopted Family Zoning Plan, alleging that it violates state housing law and does not create the housing capacity the city promised when it secured state approval of its Sixth Cycle Housing Element.
California’s housing reforms are being enforced, with the state using litigation, court orders, and suspension of local land use authority to ensure compliance, as demonstrated by the recent legal victory against Huntington Beach.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared victory after the California Supreme Court declined to hear Huntington Beach’s appeal in a housing lawsuit, leaving intact a lower court ruling that subjects the city to court-ordered remedies for its prolonged refusal to comply with state housing law.
The Second District Court of Appeal has ruled that Redondo Beach’s housing element violates the state’s Housing Element Law, as its use of residential overlay zones on commercial and industrial properties does not meet the mandatory density and residential-use requirements.
The City of Artesia has agreed to a settlement requiring it to bring its housing element into compliance with state housing law, resulting in the creation of 1,069 new homes, including 608 affordable units, and facing potential fines if deadlines are missed.
Davis’s Measure J, which has long been a political fortress against peripheral development, is increasingly becoming a legal and political obstacle to future housing growth and compliance with state law, and the city must decide whether to reform it in order to meet its housing obligations.
Special to the Vanguard Sacramento, CA – The Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee passed Senator Scott…
Special to the Vanguard San Francisco, CA— YIMBY Law and the California Housing Defense Fund have won…
By David M. Greenwald Executive Editor Oakland, CA – Last week the Attorney General Rob Bonta announced…