Litigation Documents
This page contains links to documents and news articles related to litigation happening around the state. Items are listed in chronological order and include local (suit against Marin County BOS), federal (Huntington Beach lawsuit in federal court) and state lawsuits (four charter and two general law cities against SB-9).
Updates on Litigation
On November 9, 2023, Attorney Pam Lee returned to Catalysts to discuss the latest status on the Huntington Beach and other lawsuits pending against the State of California in opposition to the numerous laws that have been passed with respect to the ‘presumed housing crisis’. and the demands of the State, through the Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) and the RHNA process, that the Cities build large amounts of housing.
Legal Updates & Litigation Options
A presentation by Attorneys Pam Lee and Brian Wright-Bushman, Aleshire & Wynder LLP.
Huntington Beach Lawsuit
- Huntington Beach HCD Lawsuit Press Conference March 9, 2023 (Video)
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California sues Huntington Beach for limiting housing … March 9, 2023 (Video)
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Huntington Beach Blasts CA Governor Newsom Over Housing Lawsuit (Video)
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Housing Update Town Hall with Mayor Strickland and City Attorney Michael Gates May 11, 2023 (Video)
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Why California’s Suburb Could Disappear in a Couple of Decades | Michael Gates. Interview on California Insider, May 2023 (Video)
- Huntington Beach Lawsuit (PDF)
- Huntington Beach v. State of California et al. An explanation of the lawsuit by Bob Silvestri. (PDF)
Corcoran v. County of Marin Lawsuit
- Corcoran v. County of Marin Lawsuit (PDF)
- Lawsuit challenges Marin County’s housing element (Marin IJ May 4, 2023)
Workshop Series
- Part 1: Why a Campaign to Sue the State? (November 3, 2022)
- Michael Barnes Presentation (Video)
- Michael Barnes Slide Presentation (PDF) (PowerPoint Slides)
- Susan Kirsch, Action Ideas (PDF) (PowerPoint Slides)
- Part 2: A Systematic Approach to Reach the Goal. (November 10, 2022)
- Part 3: From Victim Mentality (“our hands are tied”) to Making a Difference! (November 17, 2022)
- Part 4: Critical Next Steps.(December 1, 2022)
Town Hall Series
- Part 1: Pam Lee on SB-9 and RHNA Lawsuits (August 10, 2022)
- Pam Lee Presentation (Video)
- Pam Lee Slide Presentation (PDF)
- Susan Kirsch, Action Ideas (PDF) (PowerPoint Slides)
- Part 2: Michael Barnes on RHNA (August 24, 2022)
- Part 3: Bob Silvestri on Housing Policies (September 7, 2022)
- Part 4: Mike Griffiths and John Cruikshank on Joining the Lawsuit (September 21, 2022)
- 2022 Town Hall Series Press Releases (#1 Aug 2, 2022) (#2 Aug 18, 2022) (#3 Sept 2, 2022) (#4 Sept 15, 2022)
RHNA Audit Resources
- SCAG RHNA Objection Letter
- HCD SCAG RHNA Response Letter
- Glazer Request for RHNA Audit
- RHNA-Audit Report
- RHNA-Audit-Fact-Sheet-2021
- CALE Press Release
- RHNA Consequences of Noncompliance
- RHNA-Audit-Potential-Lawsuit-Info-Sheet
- Articles and Blogs
- HOUSING ELEMENT AND RHNA LAW: RECENT REFORMS
- Michael Goldman, Ridiculous RHNA (“Ree-na”) (Part I) (Part II) (Part III)
- Michael Barnes, “The mandate that Berkeley build 8,934 housing units is both a disaster and a scam.”
- Dick Spotswood, State auditor’s analysis elevates concern about housing mandate.
- Marin Independent Journal: Flawed, flaky data of housing assessment creates questions.
- Susan Kirsch, Following audit, changes must be made to state housing needs allocation.
- Bob Silvestri, RHNA State Audit and Potential Lawsuit by California Cities and Counties
- Art Kiesel, Inflated RHNA Numbers Lead to Ruin
SB-9 Resources
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