UPDATE: Nov. 7, 2024: The state of California filed a lawsuit against the city of Norwalk on Nov. 4, arguing that the local government’s ban on new shelters and certain housing for people experiencing homelessness violates several state planning and fair housing laws. “Every city and county in California has a legal obligation to help solve our homelessness crisis,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “We have not, and will not hesitate, to ensure that everyone with the power to approve or disapprove housing takes their duties seriously.”
Dive Brief:
- The city council of Norwalk, California, voted Tuesday to extend a ban on new homeless shelters and other types of housing, despite warnings by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday that it is unlawful and the state may take legal action against Norwalk.
- The city extended by 10 and a half months a 45-day rule first adopted on Aug. 6 that bars new permits for shelters, transitional housing and supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness, with the logic that these facilities pose a threat to public health, safety and welfare.
- Newsom said in a statement that “it is counterproductive and immoral for any community to throw up their hands and say they’ve done enough while they still have people in need.” The state has sent the city a notice of violation that it must respond to by Sept. 23.
Dive Insight:
Newsom cracked down on encampments of people experiencing homelessness earlier this summer, after a U.S. Supreme Court decision paved the way for governments to enforce anti-camping laws. The governor directed state agencies in July to dismantle encampments on state land and encouraged local governments in an executive order to use state resources to address homelessness. In August, Newsom stated that he would redirect money away from cities and counties that don’t show “demonstrable results” in reducing homelessness.
“We can’t leave people in dangerous and unsanitary encampments — the city of Norwalk needs to do its part to provide people with shelter and services,” Newsom said in his Monday statement.
Norwalk’s ordinance “is really the result of the notion that certain land uses by virtue of their operational characteristics may have a negative impact on the community,” Alex Hamilton, the city’s interim director of community development, said at the Aug. 6 meeting during which city council first passed the rule. City staff have said that the extension of the rule will give them time to study its effects. The ordinance also restricts new liquor stores, laundromats, car washes and payday loan establishments.
The state disagrees with the city’s logic. “The City of Norwalk’s disingenuous moratorium equates badly needed homes for people struggling the most with liquor stores and payday loans,” California Department of Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez said in a statement. “In doing so, they are harming their own community and blatantly violating a myriad of state housing laws.” The state’s notice of violation adds that it is “nonsensical to conclude that housing and shelter for vulnerable populations constitute a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare when in fact they specifically address such threats resulting from homelessness and housing insecurity.”
Norwalk is not meeting its state-mandated housing goals, according to a press release from Newsom’s office. Meanwhile, the California Department of Housing and Community Development has awarded the city nearly $29 million in housing and homelessness funds since 2019, according to a news release.
Once the current 10-and-a-half-month extension is up, Norwalk’s city council can choose to extend it for another year, according to a Sept. 17 Norwalk City Council agenda report.
