California moves to skewer Huntington Beach with series of penalties after huge housing fallout

California is looking to hit Huntington Beach with another round of hefty fines after regulators determined the coastal Republican stronghold still hasn’t fully complied with the state’s housing laws — despite the city rushing to adopt a new housing plan this summer.State officials filed a new request Sept.8 arguing the city has yet to satisfy the conditions that would allow it to escape penalties imposed over its long-running housing fight with Sacramento, the Orange County Register reported.The latest battle comes just months after Orange County Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ordered the city to pay $10,000 a month in penalties dating back to Jan.

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Never miss a story Huntington Beach adopted a new housing element in June in an effort to stop the fines from piling up, saying the plan would pave the way for more than 13,000 new housing units by the end of the decade.But the reprieve could prove short-lived.Bacal temporarily put the penalties on hold while the California Department of Housing and Community Development reviewed the city’s updated plan.The judge warned the fines could come roaring back — and that additional penalties could be imposed — if state regulators found that Huntington Beach had not substantially complied with the law.Now, California says that is exactly what happened.In an Aug.18 letter cited in the state’s latest court filing, HCD said Huntington Beach had not completed the zoning changes necessary to bring its housing element into compliance.The state bluntly argued that without enforceable zoning changes, the city’s newly adopted housing plan amounts to little more than a promise on paper.California is asking the court to reinstate a $50,000-a-month penalty — the ...