• 0
  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do

Shopping Cart

GPAM
  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do

Judge orders Huntington Beach to update housing plan in 12 months

A judge has given Huntington Beach a year to come up with a state-mandated plan to build more than 13,000 homes by 2030.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal found that Surf City had violated state housing laws by refusing to plan for more homes, the Orange County Register reported. She gave the city 12 months to pass an updated Housing Element, a blueprint that lays out where new development can occur.

The decision comes after California State Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Huntington Beach in a lawsuit filed in March 2023 of knowingly violating state housing laws. The suit sought a court order for the city to certify its plan for homes, which was due in October 2021.

The state wanted to give the city 120 days to update its plan, but Bacal denied that request. 

The judge has yet to issue the writ that would start the clock on her 12-month order for Huntington Beach. 

If the city fails to update its housing plan after a year, the court will then determine what fines to impose, according to the Register. Bacal’s order doesn’t strip the city’s ability to issue building permits should it not meet the deadline, as the state requested.

The ruling represents a partial victory for Huntington Beach, which has strenuously challenged the state requirement it plan to build 13,368 homes by the end of the decade, nearly 6,000 of which must be affordable to low- or very-low-income households.

“Fighting these court battles is absolutely worth it,” City Attorney Michael Gates told the Register, adding that the city was evaluating its appeal options.

He said the city’s year-long reprieve wasn’t subject to any penalties, and called the order giving the city more time a setback for the state.  

“Now we have breathing room to put together a Housing Element and bring it back to council and go to the court and show what we’ve done without high pressure, penalties and punitive mechanisms from the state,” Gates told the newspaper.

The state attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment by the Register.

Huntington Beach has placed a charter amendment on the November ballot that would require voter approval to carry out zoning changes required by a new Housing Element when there are “significant and unavoidable” environmental impacts.

Should that charter amendment pass, the city would have to get voter approval before a new Housing Element could be implemented. Ballot arguments filed against that charter amendment warn of unnecessary costs of hosting elections to update city zoning plans.

This year, the city will make arguments over a related case in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that seeks to prevent it from having to comply with state housing law. 

A federal trial court judge dismissed the case last fall, saying Huntington Beach lacked standing to bring constitutional claims challenging state housing allocation laws. The city appealed.

— Dana Bartholomew

Read more

  • Court sustains state lawsuit against Huntington Beach over housing
  • Judge tosses Huntington Beach challenge to state housing regulation
  • Huntington Beach sues state over mandated housing development

The post Judge orders Huntington Beach to update housing plan in 12 months appeared first on The Real Deal.

Powered by WPeMatico

  • 29 July 2024
  • The Real Deal
  • Uncategorized
  •  Like
Leo Pustilnikov to acquire 17 Skid Row buildings in LA for $10M →← Ben Affleck downsizes to $21M ranch in Brentwood
  • Recent Posts

    • Hoteliers sound the alarm on looming distress  May 24, 2025
    • Growth markets see retail boom even with tariff uncertainty May 24, 2025
    • Westchester resi project gets city OK after union drops objection May 23, 2025
    • WATCH: ‘Father of CMBS’ Ethan Penner to run for governor of California May 23, 2025
    • Fashion Island office fetches $756 psf May 23, 2025
  • Recent Comments

    • Archives

      • May 2025
      • April 2025
      • March 2025
      • February 2025
      • January 2025
      • December 2024
      • November 2024
      • October 2024
      • September 2024
      • August 2024
      • July 2024
      • June 2024
      • May 2024
      • April 2024
      • March 2024
      • February 2024
      • January 2024
      • December 2023
      • February 2023
      • January 2023
      • December 2022
      • November 2022
      • October 2022
      • September 2022
      • August 2022
      • July 2022
      • June 2022
      • May 2022
      • April 2022
      • March 2022
      • February 2022
      • January 2022
      • December 2021
      • November 2021
      • October 2021
      • September 2021
      • August 2021
      • July 2021
      • June 2021
      • May 2021
      • April 2021
      • March 2021
      • February 2021
      • January 2021
      • December 2020
      • November 2020
      • October 2020
      • September 2020
      • August 2020
      • July 2020
      • June 2020
      • May 2020
      • April 2020
      • March 2020
      • February 2020
      • January 2020
      • December 2019
      • November 2019
      • October 2019
      • September 2019
      • August 2019
      • July 2019
      • June 2019
      • May 2019
      • April 2019
      • March 2019
      • February 2019
      • January 2019
      • December 2018
      • November 2018
      • October 2018
      • September 2018
      • August 2018
      • July 2018
      • June 2018
      • May 2018
      • April 2018
      • March 2018
      • February 2018
      • January 2018
      • December 2017
    • Global Property and Asset Mangement, Inc.
      137 North Larchmont
      Los Angeles, California 90010
      +1 213-427-1127

    © 2025 GPAM