Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom Secure Victory from State’s Highest Court in Housing Lawsuit Against Huntington Beach

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom today applauded the Supreme Court of California’s decision to reject the City of Huntington Beach’s petition for review in Kennedy Commission v. Superior Court. The petition asked the state’s highest court to review an appellate ruling that determined the City’s status as a charter city does not insulate it from certain judicial remedies for its longstanding violation of California’s Housing Element Law.

On March 9, 2023, Attorney General Bonta, Governor Newsom, and California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez filed suit against the City for failing to timely adopt a compliant housing element. The State’s lawsuit sought a court order setting a 120-day deadline for the City to come into compliance and limiting the City’s permitting, zoning, and subdivision approvals until the City adopted a substantially compliant housing element — as required under state law. On May 15, 2024, the San Diego Superior Court found that the City violated California’s Housing Element Law, but its final order omitted any references to the remedies requested by the State. In a unanimous decision, the California Fourth District Court of Appeal held that the lower court “erred when it omitted the 120-day compliance deadline and one or more mandatory provisional remedies” in its final order. Today’s denial means that the appellate ruling, which directed the San Diego Superior Court to enter a new order providing the relief requested by the State and to "expeditiously" adjudicate all remaining issues in the case, still stands. 

“Huntington Beach has run out of excuses in our state’s courts. It was required to submit a compliant housing element on October 15, 2021, more than four years ago. Rather than follow the law, the City has been squandering public money to avoid building its fair share of housing,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “We promised that we would hold Huntington Beach accountable, and we have successfully done so at every turn to date. Our case now returns to the trial court, where we will continue to ensure that the City answers for its unlawful actions.”

“Huntington Beach needs to end this pathetic NIMBY behavior,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “They are failing their own citizens by wasting time and money that could be used to create much-needed housing. No more excuses, you lost once again — it’s time to get building.”

"This decision reaffirms that no one is above the law, and Huntington Beach can no longer refuse to do its part to address California’s crisis of housing affordability and homelessness,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “Charter cities are not exempt from state housing law, and the few bad actors who believe so need to stop looking for a way to avoid their responsibilities.”

In response to the State’s lawsuit, the City of Huntington Beach filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the certain California housing laws. The City’s lawsuit was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s dismissal, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit then denied the City’s petition for rehearing en banc. The City has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the aforementioned rulings, and that request remains ongoing.