California attorney general sues Turlock over multi-year housing delay
The state filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of Turlock for failing to adopt a legally compliant housing plan for more than two and a half years.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Department of Housing and Community Development are requesting that the court order Turlock to bring its housing element into compliance and complete all required rezoning within 120 days. The filing also asks the court for temporary relief, including suspending the city’s authority to issue nonresidential permits while mandating the approval of certain residential projects.
The state also has taken enforcement actions against four other governments for failing to comply with California’s Housing Element Law. Those cities are Calexico, Costa Mesa, Half Moon Bay and Ridgecrest. The actions are part of a coordinated effort to achieve statewide compliance with the law by the end of the year.
Under California’s Housing Element Law, every jurisdiction must update its housing plan every eight years to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation — its share of the regional housing needs. California is in the sixth “housing element update cycle,” which requires local governments to plan for about 2.5 million additional homes across the state.
A housing element must include an assessment of housing needs, an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to meeting those needs and a program to implement the policies, among other things.
In March, Turlock was among the 15 governments Gov. Gavin Newsom had criticized and threatened with legal action for delayed housing plans. The press release states that two-thirds of those jurisdictions have since come into compliance or are expected to do so in the coming months, but not Turlock.
“California can’t solve the housing crisis while some cities sit on their hands and dare us to do something about it,” Newsom said in the press release. “These five jurisdictions had every chance to follow the law and plan for their fair share of housing. They chose not to, so now they’ll answer for it in court. Housing law applies statewide, and no city gets a pass.”
Turlock proposes 5,802 housing units in its current draft. This includes 1,305 for very-low-income people, 903 low-income and 1,096 in the middle. Apartments could be on retail strips such as Geer Road, Lander Avenue and North Golden State Boulevard.
At the time, then-Interim City Manager Gary Hampton said the city had requested clarification on several remaining items in January and was waiting for a response from HCD staff in order to finalize revisions and formally resubmit to the state with a view to completing the process.
“Although progress has been made, the HCD review process has taken longer than anticipated,” Hampton stated in March.
The filing alleges Turlock submitted an updated draft housing element to HCD for review in May. However, because the city did not complete the necessary rezones to accommodate its Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the housing element was not in substantial compliance. According to the filing, the city met with HCD in April and June to discuss the housing element.
“Jurisdictions that remain out of compliance with our Housing Element Law are standing in the way of the homes Californians need,” stated Attorney General Rob Bonta. “We are well past the halfway point of the current housing planning cycle, and timely compliance is not optional. As I’ve said many times, no local government has to solve this challenge alone, but every local government has to do its fair share.”
In a press release, the city of Turlock stated that it is focused on achieving compliance by adopting a Housing Element that meets state requirements while supporting the long-term needs of the Turlock community.
It said the remaining step is completion and adoption of the required rezoning necessary to implement the Housing Element. The required rezoning package is anticipated to be presented to the Planning Commission on Aug. 6 for recommendation. Public hearing will be on Aug. 11 and final consideration on Aug. 25.
“The city has made significant progress toward Housing Element compliance, and we have a clear path forward,” stated Turlock City Manager John J. Murphy. “This process has involved a substantial amount of planning and technical work, and city staff have worked diligently to bring us to this point. Our focus now is on completing the remaining public process, achieving Housing Element compliance, and continuing to plan responsibly for Turlock’s long-term future.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 4:26 PM with the headline "California attorney general sues Turlock over multi-year housing delay."
