Gov. Newsom Threatens Lawsuit Against City Of Norwalk over Homeless Housing Moratorium
The Newsom Administration has successfully sued both Anaheim and Huntington Beach over similar housing law violations
By Evan Symon, September 17, 2024 12:42 pm
Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced on Tuesday that the city of Norwalk has received a notice of violation and a possible lawsuit warning if they don’t reverse their city-wide moratorium on emergency shelters, single-room occupancy (SRO) housing, supportive housing, and transitional housing.
The issue dates back to early last month. In early August, Norwalk was in the midst of updating the city zoning code, as well as performance and development standards. Needing time, the Norwalk City Council approved an urgency ordinance on August 6th, instituting a 45-day moratorium on a citywide moratorium establishing, implementing, or operating new “convenience stores (liquor stores), discount stores, laundromats, carwashes, payday loan establishments, emergency shelters, single-room occupancy (SRO) housing, supportive housing, and transitional housing.”
Norwalk specifically invoked the Housing Crisis Act, a 2019 law that allows for such a ban if there is a threat to public safety and health. While initially only a 45 day ordinance, the Norwalk City Council now hopes to extend it to August of 2025. City officials have pushed for the Council to approve the extension as the ordinance is desperately needed.
“And now staff believes this is a very powerful tool to allow us to better assess and develop potential performance standards, development standards, and the zoning code,” explained Norwalk Interim Community Development Director Alexander Hamilton. “Our zoning code as all of you are aware, is pretty old – it’s from the 90s. There have been some updates, but nothing substantively on a comprehensive basis. So this will allow us to look at those uses and come back to you.”
However, the state struck back this week before the vote. While a 45 day moratorium was acceptable, an almost year long extension was deemed unacceptable by Newsom officials, both due to Norwalk being far behind state housing goals, as well as the city violating multiple state housing laws. In a letter to Mayor Margarita Rios the Norwalk City Council on Monday, the HCD specifically pointed to the city violating the Housing Crisis Act (HCA), the Anti-Discrimination in Land Use Law, the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), and the Housing Element Law.
Further, the HCD told Norwalk in the letter that the city has only issued permits for 175 units of the needed 5,034 Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) slots, going against state allocation needs. HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez said, ” The City of Norwalk’s disingenuous moratorium equates badly needed homes for people struggling the most with liquor stores and payday loans. In doing so, they are harming their own community and blatantly violating a myriad of state housing laws. The only option is to repeal the moratorium and move past this regrettable episode.”
A possible lawsuit
Should Norwalk pass the extension on Tuesday, the HCD warned in their Notice of Violation that if the city doesn’t comply and respond by September 23rd, they will bring this matter to the state Attorney General’s Office, which will trigger a lawsuit.
“At a time when many Californians are struggling to keep a roof over their heads or lack housing altogether, banning new emergency shelters and new supportive housing not just defies common sense — it is unlawful,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday. “Norwalk’s residents, indeed all Californians, should be outraged. If necessary, my office stands ready to take legal action against Norwalk.”
Governor Newsom also backed the state on Tuesday in a press release, adding, “It is unfathomable that as our state grapples with a homelessness crisis, Norwalk would pass an ordinance banning the building of homeless shelters. It is counterproductive and immoral for any community to throw up their hands and say they’ve done enough while they still have people in need. We can’t leave people in dangerous and unsanitary encampments — the city of Norwalk needs to do its part to provide people with shelter and services.”
The state’s threat to sue is far from empty. In recent years, the Newsom Administration has successfully sued both Anaheim and Huntington Beach over similar housing law violations, with other Los Angeles County cities besides Norwalk also being looked at for violations. However, with Norwalk invoking the Housing Crisis Act, and city officials continuing to urge for the extension, Norwalk could be facing the state head on with a decent legal argument.
“The state keeps saying ‘housing, housing, housing’,” said real estate attorney Bryan Sawyer to the Globe on Tuesday. “But Norwalk would have a good legal case against California. Norwalk has laid out their problems and why they need such a moratorium. The state will really need to show how they are violating everything, which will take some doing. But, you know, the state has a lot more resources than just a city.
“This is more of a message by the state if anything. Keep expanding housing. If one city doesn’t do it, then more will. Look at how fast they jumped on those Orange County cities.”
The Norwalk City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance extension during a Council meeting late on Tuesday.
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Authoritarian Gruesome Newsom is forcing mentally unstable people into residential communities. This should be addressed by state institutions. And they could use the $billions squandered on illegal aliens to care for their own citizens.
1) Is Gov Gruesome’s home Marin County forced to comply with vagrant shelters, etc., dotting the landscape and making residents’ lives hellishly impossible? After all, the Gov sneakily made it happen that they received an exemption — while he was Lt. Gov — from “affordable” stack-and-pack rabbit-hutch housing that every OTHER county and municipality in CA has to comply with. And the Marin County exemption, which has been in effect for many years, doesn’t “expire” until 2028. I don’t even have to look to know that Newsom’s Marin County is very likely NOT held to the same standard.
2) Wouldn’t a better use of the Gov’s time be to address the homeowners insurance crisis that threatens to blow up with the next Gov-created firenado if it hasn’t blown up already? Not only will no property owner in the state be covered, but insurance will be not be affordable, if that isn’t the case already. God knows useless Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who has been described as not being able to tell the difference between his butt and a hole in the ground, has done NOTHING to help or explain and in fact appears to be in bed with the insurance companies making deals 24/7.
Obviously only a partial list of Gov and state “leader” sins and the Gov’s outrageous demands of the People of the State of California. The REALLY long lists of sins can be found elsewhere here at the Globe.
So how many emergency shelters, single-room occupancy (SRO) housing, supportive housing, and transitional housing have been built in the exclusive San Francisco Bay Area communities where mostly wealthy Democrats live? Probably few to none? No doubt there are none in Marin County where Gavin hairgel Hitler Newsom lives with his Weinstein trollop wife in their gated mansion? There are probably none in the Napa Valley near Nancy Pelosi’s extravagant estate and two wineries? There are probably none in the City of Orinda where wealthy Democrats like Democrat Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan lives?
EXACTLY, TJ. I’d be very interested to know, although I think I can guess..
more wasted taxpayer $$$$. CA will need your $$$ support more than ever if this governor and legislature can not reign in their spending. Bacerra was just as bad with all of his lawsuits against Trump. When the government files a lawsuit AGAINST ITSELF, the taxpayers pay the legal fees FOR BOTH PARTIES !!!! at some point, SoCal cities may have to decide to divest themselves from the dictatorial NoCal Communists……