Tension rises in California over state’s push to build more housing

State officials in California are putting pressure on localities to reform zoning and permitting practices to allow more housing construction.

Attorney General Rob Bonta has created a new 12-member Department of Justice task force to more strictly enforce pro-housing laws. Bonta hinted recently that more lawsuits against cities failing to meet state-imposed quotas for zoning land for housing could be in the works.

The League of California Cities sharply criticized Bonta’s comments. A spokesperson for the league derided the state’s “scattershot approach” to housing laws that are “often in direct conflict with each other and counterproductive to our shared goals to increase housing supply.”

Tension between the state and local governments over housing recently flared up in the Bay Area. The state Department of Housing and Community Development warned San Francisco that the city’s rejection of two housing projects could violate state law. The department ordered the city to provide “reasoning and evidence” for blocking more than 800 units of new housing.