Huntington Beach continues to fight a losing battle to evade state laws that require it to permit more housing. This Editorial Board long predicted the outcome. The latest: On December 10, the state Supreme Court refused to review the city’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that requires it to update its housing plan and permit nearly 14,000 new units this decade. The city has lost in the lower courts, the high court and in the federal courts, too.
If the city were interested in finding a reasonable solution to its housing shortages, it could work with the state on realistic construction-permit targets. Instead, the council — dominated by MAGA Republicans who seem interested in posturing for a national political audience — is spinning its repeated embarrassments. But it’s hard to spin Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal’s new order after the state Supreme Court passed on review.
The judge gave the city 120 days to come up with a housing plan approved by the state and restricted the city’s authority to enforce zoning laws. The ruling also “ordered the city to greenlight any builder’s remedy projects they receive within 60 to 90 days, which means if a developer builds in affordable units, they can largely ignore the city’s zoning laws,” per a VoiceofOC report. Savvy developers might want to quickly take advantage of this opportunity.
The city’s statement noted the courts didn’t impose fines on Huntington Beach and that the trial court is still reviewing its lawsuit. That’s thin gruel. Ironically, the City Council vowed to stand up to California’s Democratic leaders, but instead gave them bragging rights. “Huntington Beach needs to end this pathetic NIMBY behavior,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “No more excuses, you lost once again — it’s time to get building.” Ouch.
This battle is counterintuitive given the “conservative” city is fighting laws that deregulate some land uses and reform the California Environmental Quality Act. Principled conservatives advocate for CEQA reform, as it’s a big-government restriction on builders. But Huntington Beach has doubled down on slow-growth, anti-property-rights ideas. It’s likely to keep losing.