SANTA ANA - A federal judge has rejected a request by the City of Huntington Beach for an emergency restraining order against state affordable housing laws.
The judge said the city has known about the dispute with the state for months and that the city could not justify why an emergency order was needed. City officials are trying to stop the state, which sued the city in superior court earlier this month, from imposing fines or penalties.
Attorney General Rob Bonta called the city's lawsuit baseless and an obstruction to state housing laws. Huntington Beach Mayor Tony Strickland says under current state laws the city would have to add more than 13-thousand housing units in the next few years, which would double the city's population.
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