On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California is suing Huntington Beach, accusing the Orange County city of deliberately blocking new homebuilding needed to accommodate population growth in the state.

The rare legal action, which will be filed in the Orange County Superior Court, alleges that Huntington Beach officials have thwarted a state law that mandates cities and counties provide sufficient housing development.

“California’s housing crisis is an existential threat to our state’s future and demands an urgent and comprehensive response,” said Newsom in a statement. “Cities and counties are important partners in addressing this housing crisis, and many cities are taking herculean efforts to meet this crisis head-on. But some cities are refusing to do their part to address this crisis and willfully stand in violation of California law. Those cities will be held to account.”

We get the latest from the Los Angeles Times.

Guest:

Liam Dillon, reporter for the Los Angeles Times covering housing and state politics; he’s been following the story; he tweets