California Gives 15 Cities ‘Final Warning’ to Submit Mandatory Housing Plans

The California Department of Housing and Community Development issued “final warning” notices to 15 city and county entities that have not yet submitted state-approved housing elements as required by state law.

As Tim Fang explains for CBS News, “Jurisdictions that received the notices stretched across the state, from Half Moon Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area, to Montclair in Southern California. Two counties in the Central Valley, Kings and Merced, also received notices.”

Since 1969, California communities have been required to update their housing elements to meet the housing needs of their residents at all income levels. Without approved housing plans, jurisdictions are subject to a law known as the Builder’s Remedy, which allows developers to build without city permits. 

Fang adds that 480 communities, or 92 percent of the state’s total, have adopted a final housing element and the zoning changes necessary to implement it, with another 22 expected to finalize their plans in the next two months.