Huntington Beach has 120 days to update its plan for meeting housing mandates with the state, an appellate court ruled on Thursday, Sept. 11.
The court order also allows state regulators to impose restrictions on the city’s control over permitting and development until it complies with state housing laws.
Gov. Gavin Newsom called Thursday’s court order a win for the state’s efforts to address the affordable housing crisis.
“Huntington Beach officials have wasted vast sums of taxpayer dollars to defend clearly unlawful NIMBY policies,” he said in a statement. “They are failing their own citizens — by wasting time and money that could be used to create much-needed housing.”
City Attorney Michael Vigliotta said in a statement Friday that the city is working with outside counsel to review the court’s decision.
“Huntington Beach remains deeply concerned about the impacts of state housing mandates on our environment, infrastructure, and beach community character,” he said. “We look forward to defending local control over these housing matters.”
Huntington Beach leaders have resisted the state’s mandate that the city plan for the development of at least 13,368 units by 2029. City officials have argued that, as a charter city, Huntington Beach is not subject to state housing mandates. The state, and now courts, disagree.
The state sued Huntington Beach in March 2023, alleging that the city violated state law by refusing to submit a compliant housing element and creating zoning to support more housing construction. The same day, Huntington Beach filed a federal lawsuit against the state; a federal appeals court dismissed that case in April.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled against Huntington Beach in May 2024 and gave the city one year to craft a new housing element, rejecting the 120-day deadline requested by the state.
The appellate court’s ruling Thursday reversed that portion of the trial court’s decision.