California: Governor Newsom reaches agreement with La Habra Heights on violations of state housing law
The Californer/10296246

Trending...
News

Nov 1, 2024

Governor Newsom reaches agreement with La Habra Heights on violations of state housing law

What you need to know:
Governor Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta have reached a settlement with La Habra Heights to bring the city into compliance with state housing law.

SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the state has entered into a stipulated judgment with the City of La Habra Heights, putting the city on an expedited timeline to submit a compliant housing element to the Department of Housing and Community Development. The new housing plan must create 244 housing units, including at least 164 that are affordable to low or very-low-income households.

"No more excuses — every community has a responsibility to create housing and to help reduce homelessness. I am pleased that La Habra Heights has come to the table and agreed to meet their housing goals for a community that desperately needs more affordable homes."

Governor Gavin Newsom

"The City of La Habra Heights has done the right thing. Instead of continuing to skirt California's housing laws, it will finally be complying with its legal obligation to plan for 244 housing units," said Attorney General Rob Bonta. "My office will not let up: no matter the size of the city or county, we will not rest until every local government in California plans for the future and does its part to tackle our housing crisis."

The City of La Habra Heights is designated as a high opportunity jurisdiction by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Opportunity Area 2024 map, indicating access to good schools, less pollution, and jobs—all factors that impact long-term success for families with children. However, the city currently has only single-family homes, with no multifamily housing and zero affordable units.

The deadline for the City of La Habra Heights to adopt a compliant housing element was October 2021.

After repeated attempts to assist the city to come into compliance, HCD's Housing Accountability Unit — launched by Governor Newsom in 2021 — issued a Notice of Violation on March 19, 2024. HCD then worked with the Attorney General's Office to reach today's agreement with La Habra Heights.

Despite the agreement, until La Habra Heights fulfills its obligations under the agreement, the city remains subject to the "Builder's Remedy" and cannot refuse to permit certain affordable housing projects. The city also remains ineligible to receive key state housing and homelessness funds.

HCD, through the Attorney General's Office, has now entered into five agreements over housing element compliance. The previous four were San Bernardino, Coronado, Malibu, and Fullerton.

More on The Californer
"This latest agreement is a key example of why it is so important that every city, big and small, is held accountable for doing its fair share to address the statewide housing need," said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. "When La Habra Heights adopts a compliant housing element, it will — for the first time ever — make land available for multifamily and affordable housing, creating a path to opportunity for more families in this high-resource community."

All state and local public agencies must take deliberate action to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing — combating disparities resulting from past patterns of segregation. Increasing supply of multifamily housing expands access to fair housing for lower-income and historically disadvantaged groups, in turn fostering more inclusive communities.

More housing. More accountability.

Since taking office, Governor Newsom has invested $40 billion in housing production. The state has also invested over $27 billion to help communities address homelessness.

Governor Newsom championed the creation of the Housing Accountability Unit at HCD to ensure cities and counties fulfill their legal responsibilities to plan and permit their fair share of housing. This focus on accountability has, in part, led to a 15-year high in housing starts in California. Since its establishment, the Housing Accountability Unit has supported the development of 7,513 housing units, including 2,765 affordable units, through enforcement actions and by working with local jurisdictions to ensure compliance with housing law.

Addressing the homelessness crisis

Today's action also follows the Governor's recent executive order urging local governments to quickly address encampments and provide individuals experiencing homelessness with the care, compassion, and support they need. Earlier this month, the Governor announced  $130.7 million in new funding for local communities to help people experiencing homelessness in dangerous encampments, paired with robust accountability measures.

California recently announced 37 new grant awards totaling more than $827 million to help more than 100 local communities and organizations create long-term solutions to address homelessness, with strong accountability and transparency measures and clear expectations to ensure that local strategies to address homelessness are measurable and effective.

More on The Californer
Housing and Homelessness, Press Releases, Recent News

https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkur..." rel="nofollow external noopener">https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https...">https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=h...">https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/copy_link?linku...">Recent news

Building on long history of tech & innovation, California selected as headquarters for the National Semiconductor Technology Center


Nov 1, 2024

News What you need to know: California will be home to a first-of-its-kind research & development facility made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration's CHIPS & Science Act. SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Newsom celebrated California's selection by the U.S....

Governor Newsom announces appointments 10.31.24

Oct 31, 2024

News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Vickie Sakamoto, of Sacramento, has been appointed Assistant State Fire Marshal at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE.) Sakamoto has been Assistant...

ICYMI: "Incarceration, violent crime, and property crime rates lower than they were 30 years ago"

Oct 31, 2024

News In case you missed it, new analysis from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that "violent and property crime rates are less than half of what they were, and property crime is at pre-pandemic levels," in addition to "savings from less...

Filed Under: Government, State

Show All News | Report Violation

0 Comments

Latest on The Californer