The City of Huntington Beach is considering a new measure that invokes environmental concerns to try to fend off state housing mandates.
At its Tuesday meeting, the city council will consider whether to put a measure on the November ballot to require residents to vote on any “city-initiated” change to the city’s zoning or general plan that could negatively impact the environment. The measure, as proposed, takes direct aim at state mandates designed to encourage new housing, which offer some exemptions from state environmental laws.
The proposed ballot measure would also add language to the city’s charter (like a constitution for cities) “to the effect of ‘City Planning and Zoning is a local, ‘municipal affair,’ beyond the reach of State control or interference,” according to a report about the agenda item on the city’s website.
The backstory
The proposal is the city’s latest effort to fend off state housing mandates. In April 2023, the city failed to meet a state requirement to plan for a set amount of housing, including affordable units, known as a housing element.
In May, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled that Huntington Beach was required under state law to adopt a housing element. The city is appealing that decision.
And last year, a federal judge ruled against Huntington Beach in the city’s effort to prove the state violated its First Amendment speech rights by requiring it to adopt a statement laying out how and why the economic and social benefits of zoning for housing outweigh some “significant and unavoidable impacts” to the environment and a city’s quality of life.
The city’s proposed ballot measure seeks to reignite that…
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