Overview
- The state’s housing department sent Notices of Violation to 15 cities and counties that lack a certified housing element, the required plan that shows how a community will meet housing needs across all income levels.
- Officials said the jurisdictions are more than two years late and must respond within 30 days, with referral to the attorney general and potential lawsuits if they fail to show progress within 60 days.
- The named communities include Atwater, Half Moon Bay, Kings County, Merced County, Montclair, and Turlock, with the rest spread across the Central Valley, the Bay Area, and the high desert.
- State leaders said 92 percent of California jurisdictions are now in compliance, casting these 15 as outliers and warning that missing plans can stall projects and slow affordable housing.
- The step builds on earlier enforcement by the Housing Accountability Unit, which reports over 1,200 actions and court wins or settlements in cases against Anaheim, Elk Grove, La Canada Flintridge, Norwalk, and Huntington Beach.