The State of California filed lawsuits against five cities on July 16 for failing to meet the deadline to submit a plan to address housing shortages in their municipalities as required by the Housing Element Law. The state asks that the five cities, Half Moon Bay, Costa Mesa, Calexico, Turlock, and Ridgecrest, be fined and required to submit a completed plan within 120 days.
The cities named in these suits are at least 2.5 years overdue in completing their plans, and join 7 other cities that settled other lawsuits over the Housing Element Law with the state earlier this year: Hollister, Coronado, Fullerton, San Bernardino, Malibu, Artesia and La Habra Heights. Huntington Beach lost a similar lawsuit in May, and was ordered to pay $170,000 in fines over its failure to meet housing requirements, and may soon be forced to pay sixfold the penalties and have a receiver appointed that would strip the city of its local zoning control.
