Huntington Beach’s attorney Tuesday said he would appeal a federal court judge’s dismissal of the city’s lawsuit seeking to block the state from enforcing affordable housing laws.
The 15-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Fred W. Slaughter dated Monday, but which was shared with the state on Tuesday, said the city lacked legal standing to pursue the federal complaint against the state. For the city it was the latest failed attempt to argue that as a charter city it has more authority than a general law municipality to act apart from state law.
Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates said in a statement that Slaughter’s ruling “was surprisingly light on the court’s decision for dismissal.”
Gates argued that Slaughter “relied heavily” on a ruling regarding Lake Tahoe, but that is a general law city and not a charter city like Huntington Beach, “which is an important distinction for purposes of standing.”
He added that Slaughter’s ruling “was dismissive of other compelling First Amendment standing issues without explanation,” and vowed to seek an appeal with the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The city’s lawsuit is compelling and should be given a full, proper analysis under the law,” Gates said.
City Councilman Dan Kalmick told City News Service that he was “not surprised” by the judge’s ruling.
“I don’t think housing will be solved in court, but by working with Sacramento,” Kalmick said.
Kalmick voted against taking the state to court over the issue.
“I didn’t see it going anywhere and we’ll see if the appeals court will take it up, but I won’t likely be supporting an appeal,” Kalmick said. “It’s a bummer the council majority wants to fight the fight, but we already tried that and it didn’t work so we’re going to try again, I guess. I don’t remember taking that vote (on an appeal), but (Gates) seems to think we did.”
Kalmick said the city did approve a housing plan for the state, but that the city council rejected it. He added that median home prices are so high now in the city that it’s driving student enrollment down and officials are considering school closings.
Kalmick said the city is capable of working out a housing agreement with the state to help provide more affordable housing. City officials argued in their federal lawsuit that the state’s demands would generate more density than the city could handle.
Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement saying his office filed the motion to dismiss the city’s lawsuit “because we believed it was meritless. We are pleased that the court agreed. With this behind us, we look forward to prosecuting our state case against Huntington Beach. Everyone must do their part to address California’s housing crisis.”
The state’s lawsuit has been assigned to an San Diego County Superior Court judge, who put that case on hold until Slaughter’s ruling.