Costa Mesa okays 2,300 homes as California pursues its lawsuit

For years, California Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to sue cities that didn’t adequately update their plans for new housing or slow-walked the adoption of new reforms. They weren’t idle threats. He’s followed through, with the latest round coming in July. Orange County’s Costa Mesa was among five municipalities sued for missing deadlines to plan for their share of state-mandated housing, including units for low- and moderate-income residents. Despite the lawsuit, the Costa Mesa City Council recently approved a long-delayed development plan on state-owned land. However, even the development plan’s go-ahead falls short of reaching the city’s housing goals. The newly approved plan calls for thousands of fewer units than originally proposed and falls short of what the city’s planning staff says is needed to make the project financially feasible. California isn’t alone in using litigation to force housing reform, and the lawsuits cut both ways. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell sued nine towns for refusing to comply with the state’s MBTA Communities law, a mandate the state’s top court has since upheld. In California, pro-housing groups have gone further, suing Newsom himsel...