The Republican mayor of Huntington Beach, California, accused Democrats Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta of “singling out” his city in a lawsuit over affordable housing mandates when a rampant homelessness crisis permeates the Golden State.Â
“AG Bonta’s statement today about ‘amending’ the State’s current lawsuit against Huntington Beach is wrong. The City Attorney is requesting the court dismiss the State’s lawsuit involving SB 9 and ADU’s because it is entirely moot. If the State wants to now sue the City for an alleged Housing Element violation, the State’s laws on procedure require the State to file a new lawsuit. Simply ‘amending’ is not an option. Bonta should know that,” Huntington Beach Mayor Tony Strickland said in a statement Monday.
“Moreover, Bonta has over 240 other cities in the State of California that do not have certified Housing Elements,” he wrote. “The fact that the Attorney General is singling out Huntington Beach only strengthens the City’s arguments in court that the State is not following the law with these housing mandates. These regular State press releases announcing legal actions against Huntington Beach may grab headlines, but they do not intimidate or deter the City, and they have no effect in the court of law, where these conflicts of law will ultimately be decided.”
Strickland’s statement came in response to an announcement earlier Monday that Bonta, Newsom and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) filed a motion to amend the state’s lawsuit against Huntington Beach.Â
WHAT GAVIN NEWSOM’S ‘MAKE AMERICA CALIFORNIA’ TOUR CONVENIENTLY IGNORED
California originally filed the lawsuit on March 8, arguing that the city’s ban on the processing of SB 9 and Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) applications violated state housing laws and must be struck down. The Huntington Beach City Council later reversed course and voted on March 21 to resume processing SB 9 and ADU…
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