California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a new lawsuit on Thursday targeting the city of Huntington Beach for violating state housing law.
Despite
multiple warning letters
from the state attorney general’s office, the Huntington Beach City Council
recently voted
4-3 to stop processing new permit applications for accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
“The laws are clear, as is Huntington Beach’s willful, intentional refusal to follow them,” Bonta said. “That’s why we’re in court, challenging the city’s unlawful actions and asking the court to suspend their enforcement while our lawsuit continues.”
Legal fight centers on ADUs
In recent years, new state laws have made it easier for homeowners throughout California to build detached, secondary housing units on their properties, often to house their elderly parents or adult children who cannot afford Southern California’s high housing costs.
But several Huntington Beach councilmembers have vocally opposed ADUs, calling them a form of “radical redevelopment” that threatens the “quality and lifestyle” of residential neighborhoods.
Many members of the Huntington Beach City Council also oppose the state’s requirement for cities to plan for new housing, a policy that has
recently shifted
new housing development away from Southern California’s Inland Empire and toward wealthy, coastal communities. Under those rules, Huntington Beach must plan for more than 13,000 new housing units by 2029.
Another legal showdown over housing
This is not the first time Sacramento has tussled with Huntington Beach over the city’s opposition to housing development. In 2019, the state
sued
the city over failures to set aside…
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