Huntington Beach appears to have reached the end of the road in federal court in its effort to resist the state’s requirements for affordable housing, with the U.S. Supreme Court declining Monday to consider the city’s appeal.
“City officials can’t use the First Amendment as an excuse to violate state housing law,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement Monday. “The Huntington Beach officials who wasted taxpayer dollars on this embarrassing approach rather than doing their jobs ought to be ashamed of themselves. Huntington Beach deserves better. What a waste of taxpayers’ dollars that could have gone to much-needed housing for their community.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta said the city “took its fight to the highest court in the country — and lost. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court officially declined to step in, leaving no doubt that the city must comply with our state housing laws. After years of meritless resistance that has wasted taxpayer dollars, Huntington Beach can no longer claim that the U.S. Constitution is on its side. It is not. We look forward to holding the city fully accountable in state court, where we recently secured a decision that requires it to remedy its violations and significantly restricts the city’s local control until it does so.”
In December, the state Supreme Court refused to review an appellate court ruling in the state’s favor compelling the city to adhere to the affordable housing requirements.
Huntington Beach officials had argued that the city’s status as a charter city — which allows for more authority in governing itself — meant it did not have to comply with the state’s mandates on building affordable housing. The state sued the city in March 2023, and a year later a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled the city violated the state’s Housing Element Law, but did not include remedies the state wanted. Appellate court justices, however, overturned the lower court judge and sent it back to the judge to address the issue.
City officials sued the state in federal court to challenge the constitutionality of its housing laws, but the city lost in the lower court and the federal appeals court before the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal.
City officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.