15 California communities get ‘final warning’ about housing strategy

Fifteen California communities received “final warnings” from Gov. Gavin Newsom for failing to come up with a plan for affordable housing.

A law that took effect in 2022 requires every community to submit to the state’s housing agency a plan — “the housing element” — that details how it intends to meet the housing needs of residents at all income levels.

So far, housing plans have been adopted for 480 cities and counties; 22 others are expected to finalize their plans in the next two months, said the statement Wednesday from Newsom’s office. The 15 communities that received warnings are “more than two years behind schedule and lack a path to compliance within 60 days,” the statement said. Those communities could be sued by the state.

They are:

Half Moon Bay
Escalon
Oakdale
Patterson
Turlock
Atwater
Merced County
Lemoore
Hanford
Avenal
Kings County
Corcoran
Ridgecrest
California City
Montclair

The state’s online accountability dashboard details county-by-county progress in creating housing. In addition to Half Moon Bay, which received a warning, the Bay Area cities currently designated as “out of compliance” are Belvedere and Clayton.