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Civics & Democracy

HB remains defiant after losing latest legal round in state housing battle

Aerial view shows the ocean in the foreground with a long pier with a red-roofed building at the end. Inland, there are homes and buildings and a cloudy sky.
Huntington Beach has been fighting state laws regarding new housing.
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Topline:

A federal appeals court has said Huntington Beach cannot sue California over state housing mandates. But the beach city isn't backing down.

Why now: The decision by a three-judge panel at the Ninth Circuit came on Wednesday.

What's the backstory: The Orange County beach city filed suit against the state in 2023 in an effort to fight the state's order to make way for 40,000 new affordable homes across California.

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What does HB say? Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates has argued that charter cities — such as Huntington Beach — are autonomous and should not have to comply with the state's push for more affordable housing. A lower court — and now, this week, the Ninth Circuit — disagreed.

What's next? Gates told LAist he intends to continue pressing the city's case. "We think this is an error in law and this is not the end," he said.

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