Tag: RHNA

California’s Suburban Coastal Communities Might Vanish Soon Due to State Policies: Huntington Beach City Attorney

As some coastal towns in California are forced to build more housing while some rural areas are escaping the state’s aggressive housing laws, some local leaders are taking a stand to stop high density development from altering their suburban idyllic beach towns. “The state’s basically coming in with these housing mandates and saying, hey, local…


Federal Judge Rejects Huntington Beach’s Requested Injunction to Stop Housing Law

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A federal judge in Santa Ana March 21 rejected the city of Huntington Beach’s bid for a temporary restraining order preventing the state from enforcing its affordable housing laws. U.S. District Judge Fred Slaughter ruled that the city would not have any chance of winning on any of the constitutional challenges it filed…


Majority of SoCal Cities Miss State Housing Plan Deadline, Face Possible Consequences

Sixty-one percent of Southern California cities failed to have an approved housing element plan by the Oct. 15 deadline—as mandated by the state—and now face possible consequences including loss of state funding, less control over certain development projects, and a shortened period for rezoning. The state has required cities and counties to update their housing…


Yorba Linda Housing Proposals Face Fierce Opposition From Residents

YORBA LINDA, Calif.—City Hall was filled to its maximum capacity Aug. 2 as many residents arrived on horseback just thirty minutes before city officials would meet to discuss state-mandated rezoning plans. The city council approved a measure for over 20 sites Tuesday night that would be rezoned for housing to go before voters in November;…


Laguna Hills Sued for Failure to Meet State Housing Element Deadline

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif.—A nonprofit housing group sponsored by the California Association of Realtors filed lawsuits against the City of Laguna Hills and five other Southern California cities that failed to meet state housing planning requirements. Californians for Homeownership, a nonprofit organization calling for public interest groups to “fight local anti-housing policies,” according to its website….


LA Approves Roadmap for Dramatic Increase in Housing Citywide

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved on Nov. 24 a blueprint to zone for nearly 500,000 new housing units by 2029, as mandated by the state. “The housing crisis is one of the biggest and most pressing issues facing our city,” Council President Nury Martinez said in a statement following the vote. “While other cities have…


Wildfire Housing Bill Sparks Opposition in Anaheim

Anaheim city council on June 22 will consider opposing a bill that one councilor said would make many new housing projects “infeasible and unachievable.” At the request of Councilmember Trevor O’Neil, council will discuss passing a resolution opposing Senate Bill 12 (SB 12). “SB 12 would take away an element of local control and make it more difficult to approve and…


Officials Question Methods Used to Determine California Housing Quotas

Changes to the way state-imposed zoning quotas for new housing units are calculated have created unnecessarily high allotments throughout Southern California, critics say. The changes, made “behind the scenes” in 2019, have tripled the number of homes required to be built in the Southern California region over the next eight-year cycle to more than 1.3…


Petition Calls on Rancho Santa Margarita to Protect Flower Field From Redevelopment

Hundreds of residents in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., say they’re worried that state housing mandates might cost the city a popular field known locally for its springtime burst of flowers. Rose Canyon is a 3.5 acre, undeveloped site that was “generally accepted” by a city focus group to repurpose for housing, although further study is required to determine how many units the…


Orange County Agency to Sue State Over Housing Mandates

An agency representing Orange County cities says it will sue the government department responsible for approving state-imposed housing quotas in California. The Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG) has been meeting in closed session for nearly six months to discuss the legal matter. The board revealed to the public on May 27 that it had…