In failing to plan for new housing, Costa Mesa finds itself in state’s legal crosshairs

California officials are taking the Orange County city of Costa Mesa to court — not for something local officials did, but for something they failed to do: plan for more housing.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday that his office has submitted filings asking courts to compel Costa Mesa and four other cities to comply with the requirements of California’s housing element law.

“These five that we are suing today are outliers,” Bonta said in a news conference. “They are scofflaws.”

State law requires cities to plan for new housing growth once every eight years. Bonta said for this cycle, 95% of local governments have submitted their housing elements — documents that detail how cities plan to accommodate the required number of new homes, including units affordable to low-income families.

In addition to Costa Mesa, Bonta’s office is demanding compliance from Calexico, Half Moon Bay, Ridgecrest and Turlock.

Gustavo Velasquez, director of the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development, said the cities are shirking their responsibility to plan for about 24,000 new homes combined.

That adds up to 24,000 families who, Velasquez said, “could have a path to a home in their communities where they work, where their kids go to school, maybe where they grow up.”

“Every jurisdiction that fails to meet its obligations is simply shifting the burden and asking everyone else to make up for that difference,” he added.

Costa Mesa officials did not respond to LAist’s requests for comment. State law requires the city to plan for 11,760 new homes by 2029. In City Council meetings, elected leaders have said meeting that goal will require community engagement on a massive rezoning effort.

The latest in a string of city/state battles

This is not the first time Orange County leaders have earned the reproval of state housing regulators. A long-running court battle between the state and Huntington Beach recently ended with that coastal city approving a plan to accommodate about 13,000 new homes.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the latest legal action is meant to show that no city is able to flout state law.

“California can't solve the housing crisis while some cities sit on their hands and dare us to do something about it,” Newsom said in a statement. “These five jurisdictions had every chance to follow the law and plan for their fair share of housing. They chose not to, so now they'll answer for it in court.”

The cities were supposed to turn in their housing elements more than two-and-a-half years ago, state officials said. In past housing planning cycles, the state has done little to punish cities that blow deadlines or deliver unrealistic housing elements. Bonta said this cycle will be different.

“We are done with delays,” Bonta said. “It's no secret that California's housing shortage is one of the most pressing challenges facing our state. Every delay in compliance translates into delayed housing opportunities for families, for workers, seniors and young people across the state.”

Why this cycle is different

The housing element process forces cities to plan for more housing, but it doesn’t force them to actually build it. Instead, cities can comply with the law by doing things like giving developers more incentives to build denser housing, or rezoning certain neighborhoods to allow apartments.

The current state planning cycle has delivered much higher housing goals to coastal cities like Costa Mesa. Historically, housing growth in Southern California was channeled further inland, concentrating new construction in parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

But this time, local planning officials took a different approach. They significantly boosted goals in coastal employment centers with the aim of putting residents closer to their jobs. That triggered a political backlash in cities that saw their allocations skyrocket.

In the previous cycle, which covered the years 2014 through 2021, Costa Mesa’s goal was to plan for only two new housing units.