SACRAMENTO, California — California filed a lawsuit Monday against a Los Angeles suburb, saying its recent moratorium on homeless shelters and transitional housing violates the state’s fair housing and anti-discrimination laws.
The lawsuit is part of an ongoing effort by Gov. Gavin Newsom to push back against what he sees as local resistance and defiance of state laws in light of California’s desperate need for new housing. The crisis has led to an increase in the number of homeless people in the country’s most populous state.
Norwalk, a city of 100,000 residents about 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles, becomes the latest city to face legal action from the state over its housing policies. This came after the city council voted in favor of an extension in September his temporary ban about new homeless shelters and emergency housing.
City council members said in a recent statement that Norwalk has done its fair share to address the homeless crisis, but previous state programs, including one that places homeless people in motel roomshave raised public safety concerns. The moratorium, which will remain in effect until next year, is already in effect blocked a Los Angeles County plan in September to move homeless people into a hotel in the city.
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges that the city violated half a dozen housing laws by imposing such a moratorium. It asks the court to halt the city’s law.
“Our message is clear, our message is consistent,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday. “If local governments try to circumvent state housing laws, if they refuse to do the bare minimum to address California’s dire lack of affordable and accessible housing, we will hold them accountable.”
Monday’s lawsuit comes after Newsom publicly condemned Norwalk and urged local elected officials to reconsider the policy. The state warned the city in September of possible legal action and last month withdrew the city’s housing plan, effectively disqualifying the city from state funding for the homeless and housing programs. Bonta said state officials also met with the city last week, but to no avail.
“The Norwalk City Council’s inability to overturn this ban, despite knowing it is unlawful, is inexcusable,” Newsom said in a statement Monday. “No community should turn its back on its residents in need.”
The mayor and a city spokesperson did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.
California has stepped up enforcement of state housing laws in recent years. It indicted at least two towns last year for rejecting affordable housing projects and housing for the homeless. Last month, Newsom also signed a package of 32 housing bills to make it easier for the state to go after local cities that defy housing laws.
The lawsuit is likely to escalate the conflict between state and local governments over how many housing projects cities should approve and how quickly they should build them. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, California needs to build 2.5 million homes by 2030 to meet demand. But the state averages only about 100,000 new homes per year, of which only 10,000 are affordable homes.
The Democratic governor, who has ambitions on the national stage, has made housing and homelessness a top priority as California’s leader. His administration has spent about $40 billion on building affordable housing and $27 billion on solutions to homelessness. Earlier this summer, he began pressuring local governments to do so clearing camps which are lined up along the streets and busy business entrances, right up to the edge threaten to withhold state funding next year if he doesn’t see results.