Norwalk, a city of about 100,000 residents about 18 miles south of Los Angeles, passed the temporary ban on emergency shelters and transitional housing in August, and extended it 10 months in September, to protect the safety of residents and maintain control over its own land uses, according to the city attorney.
Newsom, who declared clearing homeless encampments in Los Angeles County a priority this summer, warned the city Sept. 16 to reverse its temporary housing moratorium or face legal action.
City councilors, in a closed session Tuesday to discuss the potential lawsuit, decided to stand behind the moratorium but to place a hold on enforcing it until city staff scheduled a meeting with state and county officials to try to reach a “mutually agreeable solution,” City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman said.
The city hoped to reach a resolution that does not involve litigation, but also keeps in mind “the City Council’s first priority, which is to preserve the safety of the residents of the city of Norwalk, and to attempt to preserve the city’s local control over the land uses of our city,” Alvarez-Glasman said.
“No more excuses—every city, including Norwalk, must do its part and follow state housing laws,” Newsom added.
Norwalk Mayor Margarita Rios told The Epoch Times the city was committed to keeping residents safe.
“The City Council is committed to safeguarding the interests and public safety of Norwalk residents while retaining local control over land use decisions,” Rios wrote in an email. “Our ordinance was specifically designed to protect residents by promoting responsible development.”
Norwalk has about 198 homeless people living on its streets this year, according to the Los Angeles Almanac. That was 97 more than last year—nearly a 100 percent increase—but fewer than the 469 homeless the city had in 2017.
The homeless population in Norwalk was similar to other parts of Los Angeles County, where people lived outside in a tent or other makeshift shelter, while some lived in recreational vehicles or cars.
The city’s decision Tuesday to not enforce the housing moratorium and to seek a resolution with the state was not enough, the governor said.
“[T]here is no formal stay or anything that would prevent the city from enforcing the moratorium as soon as it wishes, and the city has refused to commit to repealing it in the near future,” Newsom wrote in Thursday’s statement.
The moratorium violates several state planning and fair housing laws, according to the governor, including the Housing Crisis Act, the Anti-Discrimination in Land Use Law, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, and the Housing Element Law.
Since 1969, the state has required that all local governments adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community and has used the allocation process to determine how many units each city must build to keep up.
David Zisser, assistant deputy director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, sent a nine-page violation notice to Mayor Rios and the city’s other councilors on Sept. 16, giving the city until Sept. 23 to respond in writing.
Despite the violation notice and threats by Newsom, city councilors approved the moratorium extension Sept. 17.
“The city has made significant strides in addressing this important issue which every community faces,” Rios said on Sept. 18. “The entire City Council has been instrumental in taking action, which includes opening affordable housing for homeless veterans, supporting L.A. County’s Homekey project, funding its own homelessness engagement teams, and being one of the few cities in L.A. County with a dedicated Social Services Department to assist people experiencing homelessness.”
Norwalk has received nearly $29 million in state housing and homelessness funds in the past, according to Newsom.
The county also has a “Project Roomkey” program, which focuses on more immediate shelter needs, but the program has caused the city a lot of problems, according to the mayor.
Rios said the local housing programs—particularly Project Roomkey—placed a “substantial number of homeless individuals with high acuity needs near homes, schools, and public spaces,” and has raised significant concerns in the city.
“This project has negatively impacted public safety and community well-being,” Rios said. “We urgently need improved communication and collaboration from the state to address these issues; we must tackle this in a spirit of cooperation rather than under the threat of penalties.”
Director of Housing and Community Development Gustavo Velasquez said in a joint statement with Newsom that the city is in violation of the state housing law and its housing element was no longer in compliance.
“Our Housing Accountability Unit provided the city clear guidance—with full transparency on what our next steps would be if they did not repeal this egregious ordinance,” Velasquez said. “Instead of working to correct their missteps, they dug in their heels and are now ineligible for key funding and subject to the ‘builder’s remedy.’”
The state’s “builder’s remedy” is a legal tool the state can use to ignore, or bypass, Norwalk’s local laws and allow developers to move ahead with projects despite the city’s moratorium.
