Elk Grove is a city, run by its citizens. The California Attorney General does not recognize cities or their rules and laws. Instead, he is on a jihad to make every city in California to look like Calcutta. Bonta wants California to be a poor, Third World City.
“Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced the state is suing the Sacramento suburb for rejecting a proposed affordable housing project that would’ve brought 66 much-needed units to the city’s Old Town Special Planning Area. Bonta claims the city’s decision violated multiple fair-housing and anti-discrimination laws, including the landmark Senate Bill 35, which is currently undergoing a battle of its own in the Legislature.
The news story itself is a promoter of anti-citizen government. Note the phrase, “affordable housing project that would’ve brought 66 much-needed units to the city’s Old Town Special Planning Area.” Needed by who? Bonta to harm the Elk Grove community? Why does Bonta oppose local government and local control—because he is a totalitarian? It is time to return government to the people.
| AG Bonta Sues Elk Grove for Refusal to Create Slum Housing California Playbook, 5/2/23 https://www.politico.com/newsletters/californiaplaybook |
| THE BUZZ: California is putting more teeth behind its housing laws, and Elk Grove is the latest to get bitten. Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced the state is suing the Sacramento suburb for rejecting a proposed affordable housing project that would’ve brought 66 much-needed units to the city’s Old Town Special Planning Area. Bonta claims the city’s decision violated multiple fair-housing and anti-discrimination laws, including the landmark Senate Bill 35, which is currently undergoing a battle of its own in the Legislature. Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom have taken a more forceful approach to housing this year and have made it clear they expect cities to step up — a message they’ve hammered home in both rhetoric and legal action. The state earlier this year also sued Huntington Beach, claiming the elected officials there violated state law by rejecting applications for granny flats. The city quickly reversed course on the applications, but the state is still suing over its refusal to adopt a compliant housing plan. At their core, many of these conflicts come down to zoning. California lawmakers in recent years have looked to streamline construction by creating fast tracks through the normal web of red tape that comes with building in California, but cities don’t always comply — or agree. In the Elk Grove case, city officials say they rejected the affordable housing development because it had residential units on the ground floor, which went against zoning standards. Bonta disagrees, arguing the ground floor requirement does not constitute an objective zoning standard and therefore the project should be expedited under SB 35. “Today’s lawsuit against Elk Grove sends a strong message to local governments: If you violate fair housing laws, we will hold you to account,” Bonta said in a statement. The strong-armed move was cheered by housing advocates in the state Capitol, including Sen. Scott Wiener, the author of SB 35, who said the suit makes it clear that “when we pass state housing laws, we mean it, and cities have to comply.” It’s the first time the state has brought legal action against a city for not following the provisions of SB 35, and Wiener said it’s a great example of how streamlining laws “take the politics out of housing permitting.” “Rejecting an SB 35 project for permanent supportive housing when we’re in the midst of a severe homelessness crisis? That’s just not going to fly anymore,” he said. SB 35, which was signed into law in 2017, is expected to sunset in 2025 unless the Legislature extends it — a task that’s been complicated by new labor provisions that are opposed by the formidable State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. SB 423 passed its second committee hearing last week, but the labor headwinds remain fierce. “I don’t see an imminent resolution,” Wiener said of the opposition. “But hope springs eternal, and we have a number of months left in the legislative process.” |
