A FEDERAL COURT of Appeals panel has rued against Huntington Beach in a housing law dispute (Shutterstock).

The City of Huntington Beach has suffered yet another courtroom setback in its legal battle with the State of California over housing mandates.

Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling rejecting an appeal from the Surf City’s city council’s defeat at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Michael Gates, city attorney for Huntington Beach, has been contending that because it’s a charter city, it is exempt from some state laws and regulations.

“No matter how California categorizes charter cities” stated the appeals court, “they remain subordinate political bodies, not sovereign entities” and that cities had no federal constitutional rights against their parent states.”

Gates claimed the court’s ruling was a “misapprehension of the law,” and the city could take further action, including attempting to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

At issue is the Regional Housing Needs Assessment which requires Huntington Beach to zone for 13,368 homes as a part of the state-mandated housing element, which Huntington Beach has refused to submit.
San Diego Superior Court judge Katherine Bacal in July ordered the city to comply within one year.