California Construction News staff writer
California has reached an agreement with the City of La Habra Heights to bring the city into compliance with state housing law. Under the judgment, the city must submit a compliant housing element to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) including 244 housing units with at least 164 of them designated as affordable for low- and very-low-income households.
“The City of La Habra Heights has done the right thing. Instead of continuing to skirt California’s housing laws, the city has agreed to fulfill its legal obligation to plan for 244 housing units,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “My office will not rest until every local government in California plans for the future and addresses the housing crisis.”
La Habra Heights is classified as a high-opportunity jurisdiction by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and HCD. However, the city currently only allows single-family homes, with no multifamily housing or affordable housing units.
The deadline for La Habra Heights to adopt a compliant housing element was October 2021. After several attempts to assist the city in meeting its obligations, HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit issued a Notice of Violation on March 19, 2024. Following this, HCD worked with the Attorney General’s Office to reach the agreement announced today.
However, La Habra Heights remains under the Builder’s Remedy, which allows developers to bypass local zoning restrictions to build affordable housing. Until the city fulfills its housing obligations, it cannot block such projects. The city is also ineligible to receive state funding for housing and homelessness programs.
HCD has now reached five agreements with cities regarding housing element compliance, following similar settlements with San Bernardino, Coronado, Malibu, and Fullerton.
“This agreement is a reminder that every city, regardless of size, must do its part to address California’s housing needs,” said Gustavo Velasquez, director of HCD. “Once La Habra Heights adopts a compliant housing element, it will open the door for multifamily and affordable housing, creating new opportunities for families in this high-resource community.”
