The state of California is suing the city of Elk Grove after it denied a proposal for a 66-unit permanent supportive housing project for people experiencing homelessness.
The lawsuit alleges that Elk Grove violated the state’s affordable housing mandates and fair housing laws when local officials denied the supportive housing project. Instead, it approved a market-rate development in the same neighborhood. Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit on May 1.
It is also a sign of escalating tensions between state and local officials in California over affordable housing and homelessness. The state is currently suing dozens of cities, arguing that they don’t have plans in place to build enough affordable housing to meet demand.
State lawmakers have also sought to preempt local efforts to address homelessness through a spate of legislation over the past couple of years.
“When local governments repeatedly fail to uphold their obligations and blatantly look for ways to skirt state law, we will use every tool available, including legal actions, to ensure that Californians have access to needed housing,” Newsom said.
Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen told the Associated Press that the city did nothing wrong when it denied the project, known as the Oak Rose Apartments. Singh-Allen added that officials deemed the project ineligible to be fast-tracked for approval under the state law that the lawsuit alleges they violated.
“The City of Elk Grove is not a bad actor,” Singh-Allen said, adding that the city has more than 1,100 affordable housing units in some stage of development.
A Third of the Nation’s Homeless Population Calls California Home
California has been ground-zero in America’s fight to solve homelessness for decades. The state is home to more than 115,000 unhoused folks, about one-third of the nationwide total. California is also home to more than half of the total unsheltered population, or those who live in tents, cars, or parks, according to federal data.
In November 2022, Newsom briefly withheld more than $1 billion in state funding from municipalities that didn’t do enough to reduce homelessness. The governor has also made about $750 million available for local authorities to conduct homeless sweeps.
Lawmakers in the Golden State have passed several bills in recent years to increase the supply of affordable homes. For example, an update to the state’s Housing Elements law in 2017 allowed developers to side-step a city’s normal review process if that city doesn’t have enough affordable homes. However, this law doesn’t allow developers to completely ignore the city’s building codes or housing standards.
Denied Project Would Have Catered to Low-Income Earners
The lawsuit alleges that the Elk Grove City Council denied the Oak Rose Apartments because it included residential units on the ground floor, which violates the city’s zoning code.
Singh-Allen told the AP that the market-rate development was approved because it went through a different review process than the Oak Rose Apartments did. But Attorney General Bonta didn’t buy that explanation.
Bonta sent a letter to Elk Grove officials on March 16 that claims the denial did not follow an “objective standard,” as defined by state law.
Bonta added that it was “clear” that the project was denied because of the intended residents.
The apartment complex would have catered primarily to low-income earners and would have included additional services such as mental health counseling, job placement services, and substance abuse help.
“The main difference between the two projects is that one creates fewer homes at a higher price, the other creates more homes that are more affordable,” Bonta said.
How You Can Help
The pandemic proved that we need to rethink housing in the US. It also showed that providing additional support and protections for low-income renters is a clear-cut way to reduce future increases in poverty and homelessness.
That’s why we need you to contact your officials and representatives. Tell them you support keeping many of the pandemic-related aid programs in place for future use. They have proven effective at keeping people housed, which is the first step to ending homelessness.
