Huntington Beach learned a lesson Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen learned – Don’t violate state housing law and don’t expect no consequences

The U.S. Supreme Courtlast week declined to hear arguments from the City of Huntington Beach in its challenge to California’s housing laws, effectively ending the coastal city’s federal case and reinforcing the state’s authority to require local governments to comply with housing mandates.

The high court’s denial leaves in place a Ninth Circuit ruling dismissing Huntington Beach’s constitutional claims and clears the way for California to continue enforcement actions in state court.

“Huntington Beach took its fight to the highest court in the country — and lost,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “After years of meritless resistance that has wasted taxpayer dollars, Huntington Beach can no longer claim that the U.S. Constitution is on its side. It is not.”

The dispute centered on Huntington Beach’s refusal to adopt a compliant housing element under the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA, requirements. According to reporting by Voice of OC, the Supreme Court’s decision effectively ends the city’s federal lawsuit, though the state’s separate case continues in California courts.

A San Diego Superior Court judge previously ordered Huntington Beach to adopt a housing plan within 120 days and restricted the city’s land-use authority until it complies, state officials said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized Huntington Beach leaders for what he described as an expensive and futile legal strategy, saying city officials “can’t use the First Amendment as an excuse to violate state housing law,” according to the attorney general’s office.

Huntington Beach Mayor Casey McKeon said in a statement that the city would continue to defend local control, even as this legal avenue has closed.

The outcome echoes a costly lesson learned in Elk Grove, where city leaders under Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen faced state legal action over housing compliance tied to the Oak Rose supportive housing project. The city was found in violation of state housing law and ultimately lost in court, with taxpayers bearing the $10 millon settlement costs of corrective actions.

State officials have increasingly signaled they are willing to take aggressive action against cities that fail to comply with housing mandates, including lawsuits, court-ordered compliance deadlines and temporary limits on local zoning authority.

In Huntington Beach, the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene underscores what housing advocates and state leaders have repeatedly argued: charter city status does not exempt municipalities from state housing law.

For Elk Grove and now Huntington Beach, the message from Sacramento — and now Washington — appears clear. Cities that attempt to sidestep state housing requirements risk not only losing in court, but paying the price in public funds and diminished local control.