AERIAL VIEW of Huntington Beach housing (Shutterstock).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

Surf City continues to be appealing, but the result isn’t pretty.

A request for a new hearing on an appeal from an earlier federal district court ruling regarding California’s housing laws was rejected this week.

At issue is a state law that would require that Huntington Beach zone for – but not necessarily build – over 13,000 new housing units.

Michael Gates, the former city attorney now working for the federal Department of Justice, argued in the original challenge to the state law that the Regional Housing Needs Assessment did not apply to Huntington Beach on the grounds that– as a charter city – it was exempt from certain state laws and regulation.

Such a position was rejected by the district court on November 2023 and on Oct. 30, 2004 the U.S. Court of Appeals took the same stance. The three-member court not only rejected the “charter city” argument but also cast doubts upon the city’s standing on the grounds that the appellants “lack standing,” having not suffered any injury and – as the court termed it – “ based on private constitutional predilections.”

The city was seeking a new hearing with 11 judges from the state’s federal circuits, but failed to achieve a majority.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the decision. “We are pleased that Huntington Beach’s latest attempt to exempt itself from our state’s housing laws have failed,” he said.
A lawsuit by the State of California against Huntington Beach on this issue is pending appeal.