State seeks to amend Huntington Beach lawsuit + Santiago looks to unseat De León
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BONTA AMENDS LAWSUIT AGAINST HUNTINGTON BEACH
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced that his office has filed an amendment to its lawsuit against the City of Huntington Beach over refusal to comply with state housing regulations.
The lawsuit, filed in March, now alleges that Huntington Beach is in violation of the state’s “Housing Element” law. It requires local governments to produce an assessment of housing needs, an inventory of resources and constraints, and a program to meet the needs they’ve outlined.
The state initially sued over the city’s refusal to implement state law on accessory dwelling units and projects related to SB 9, the 2021 measure streamlines the process for homeowners to create duplexes or subdivide an existing lot. The amended lawsuit demands both penalties and injunctive relief over the city’s alleged violation of the housing element law.
The state seeks to suspend the city’s permitting authority and mandate the approval of certain residential projects until the city comes into compliance with the law, according to the attorney general’s office. It also wants the court to declare that the city’s previous ban on SB 9 and ADU projects was unlawful and bar it from being reinstated.
““The city’s refusal last week to adopt a housing element in accordance with state law is just the latest in a string of willfully illegal actions by the city — decisions that worsen our housing crisis and harm taxpayers and Huntington Beach residents,” Bonta said in a statement.
The City of Huntington Beach has declined to comment on the amended lawsuit, according to the Voice of OC. But in January Huntington Beach Mayor Tony Strickland released a defiant statement against the state’s mandates.
“The people of Huntington Beach don’t want to urbanize our city and have the problems of Gavin Newsom’s San Francisco. If our residents wanted that, they would move to Los Angeles or San Francisco. The Huntington Beach residents want us to fight against these ridiculous and arbitrary mandate housing numbers from Sacramento,” Strickland said.
ASSEMBLYMAN SANTIAGO ANNOUNCES HE’S RUNNING FOR LA CITY COUNCIL
Four-term Democratic Los Angeles Assemblyman Miguel Santiago has announced that rather than seeking another term in the Assembly, he is running to unseat Los Angeles City Council member Kevin de León.
Santiago, who first was elected to the Assembly in 2014, said that it is time for a change on the LA City Council.
De León, who served as Senate President pro Tem from 2014 to 2018 and who unsuccessfully ran against Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2018, has been embattled ever since a leaked recording was released last fall featuring him and fellow councilmembers Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo, as well as Los Angeles Labor Federation then-President Ron Herrera, making racist and homophobic comments.
“The current Councilmember’s refusal to respect the overwhelming calls to step down, from the people he is supposed to serve all the way to the President of the United States, is holding back the progress we need on homelessness, housing, and the economic recovery we need in our neighborhoods. This has been a difficult decision, but Los Angeles needs to heal, and our neighborhoods are desperate for effective representation,” Santiago said in a statement.
Since announcing on Friday, Santiago has racked up a string of endorsements from local labor unions.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Dang, this Monday morning back to session I can feel more energy around the capitol than I have felt since 2020. Its like the streets and buildings are humming.”
- Assembly Republican Caucus consultant Sarah Haynes, via Twitter.
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