AERIAL VIEW of Huntington Beach housing (Shutterstock).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

The City of Huntington Beach’s long-running struggle with the State of California over Sacramento’s housing requirements suffered another rebuff this week when the state Supreme Court refused to review a lower court’s ruling on the case.

Huntington Beach and its former city attorney Michael Gates held to the theory that a charter city had control over its housing, including the controversial “regional housing requirement” which would compel Huntington Beach to zone for – but not necessarily build – over 13,000 housing units.

In a statement released on Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “Huntington Beach needs to end this NIMBY [Not in My Back Yard] behavior,” adding, “No more excuses, you lost once again – it’s time to get building.”

In a statement posted on the city’s website, it was maintained that the court was “simply … not considering review at this time” and the city “will continue to vigorously defend its environmental stewardship, its charter-city authority and its right to fair and even-handed enforcement of state housing laws in the Superior Court.”