California settles lawsuit with Sacramento suburb over affordable housing project

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Sacramento suburb will have to build more affordable housing for residents at risk of homelessness under a settlement announced Wednesday with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, which comes more than a year after the state alleged in a lawsuit that Elk Grove illegally denied an affordable housing project.

The settlement means the city must identify a new site for affordable housing in an area with good access to economic, educational and health resources by July 1, 2025. The state will also have more oversight over the city’s approval of affordable housing over the next five years, including by receiving regular updates on the status of proposed projects.

Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said it should not have taken so long for Elk Grove to agree to build more affordable housing.

“Our housing laws are not suggestions,” Bonta said at a news conference Wednesday. “You have to follow them. And if cities try to skirt them — try to avoid building the housing we need, try to illegally deny housing proposals, discriminate against communities, as Elk Grove did — the DOJ will hold them accountable.”

California’s lawsuit alleged the city broke state laws by denying a project to build 66 units in an area known as Old Town for residents who experienced homelessness. The denial violated laws aimed at streamlining housing projects and banning local governments from making discriminatory decisions, the state argued.

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