SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on the state’s housing lawsuit (all times local):
12:10 p.m.
The Southern California coastal city of Huntington Beach says it is complying with state housing laws, rejecting a lawsuit by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new administration.
Newsom used a new law for the first time Friday in an attempt to force the city to meet housing goals.
City Attorney Michael Gates pointed to an appeals court’s ruling in 2017 that cities like Huntington Beach that have their own charters can approve plans that don’t meet state housing requirements.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new law last year closing what housing advocates called a legal loophole.
Gates says the city has approved more than 2,500 new housing units since 2014. That leaves the city about 400 housing units short of state goals for low and very low income housing.
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11:03 a.m.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is using a new law for the first time in an attempt to force Southern California’s self-styled “Surf City USA” to meet housing goals.
The administration on Friday said it is suing Huntington Beach under the law that took effect Jan. 1. The measure was passed in 2017 as part of a package of bills intended to address the state’s severe housing shortage and homelessness problem.
Officials say Huntington Beach is being sued in part because city officials rejected chances to come into compliance in recent years.
They say negotiations began before Huntington Beach challenged the state’s so-called immigration sanctuary law, and isn’t related to that ongoing lawsuit.
Huntington Beach attorney Michael Gates hadn’t seen the lawsuit being filed in Orange County and couldn’t immediately comment.
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