Orange County municipal leaders are considering taking their fight against state-mandated homebuilding goals to the California Supreme Court. Fred Galante, attorney for the Orange County Council of Governments, has stated that the matter will be discussed during a closed session on August 24th. This discussion arises from a Fourth District Court of Appeals ruling last month, which dismissed a lawsuit challenging a state requirement for Southern California to plan for the construction of 1.34 million new homes by the end of the decade.
In 2021, Orange County cities sued the state Department of Housing and Community Development, claiming that the state agency had overestimated the number of new residences needed in Southern California by 2030. The lawsuit argued that the correct number should be around 651,000 housing units. Later that year, six Los Angeles County cities also joined the lawsuit, but it was ultimately dismissed by a superior court judge.
The recent appeals court ruling on July 27th upheld the previous superior court ruling from November 2021. It stated that amendments to the housing needs assessment law prevent municipalities from challenging allocations in court. The court referred to a 2009 case involving the city of Irvine, which established that state and regional officials have the final say in housing allocations. The appeals court emphasized that the Regional Housing Needs Assessment process is immune from judicial intervention.
Chris Elmendorf, a UC Davis Law professor specializing in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment process, stated that he was not surprised by the court’s ruling. He pointed out that the timelines for the process would not work if determinations were subject to judicial review. Elmendorf also highlighted that the Legislature is legally allowed to prohibit courts from reviewing housing allocations in cases that do not involve individual rights.
However, Galante, the attorney for the OCCOG, disagrees with this argument. He believes there is nothing in the statute that prohibits lawsuits in these circumstances. The final decision regarding whether to take the case to the California Supreme Court will be made during the closed session later this week.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
