Newport Beach residents could soon take their city’s housing plan into their own hands, potentially restricting most of the new housing constructed in the city for low income residents.
On Tuesday night, city council members are expected to consider adopting a ballot initiative signed by over 6,000 voters that would throw out the official housing plan or put it up for a public vote – an option they shot down last year when they approved an updated general plan.
The initiative’s authors argue that when city council members approved the new general plan in September 2024, they violated the Greenlight Initiative, a voter approved law from 2000 that forces city leaders to ask for a vote of the people when they significantly change the city’s general plan.
“Voter approval is required for any major amendment to the Newport Beach General Plan,” reads the city charter, noting that a major amendment can include over 100 new housing units or 100 peak hour trips in traffic.
The Newport Beach Stewardship Association, which helped organize getting the initiative on the ballot, called on city leaders to approve it without sending it to the voters in an unsigned statement on Friday.
“The Responsible Housing Initiative complies with State laws, puts Newport Beach on a path for more responsible growth, and is far more consistent with the preferences of their constituents,” the organization wrote. “Adopting the initiative will also save the City costs associated with an election and will reduce uncertainty for everyone.”
Now, they’re asking Newport Beach voters to sign off on a new plan that would require over 40% of new housing in the city to be set aside for low income or very low income residents according to the initiative posted on the city’s website.
The city’s median household income is over $158,000, meaning for families to qualify for the most expensive low income housing they can’t make more than $126,000 per year.
When city council members approved their new general plan last year, which also included zoning for over 8,000 new housing units, they argued they had no choice but to adopt new housing because of the state’s mandates.
“This isn’t a question of do we want to bypass the voters. Absolutely not. The question is ‘does the charter preclude state law?’ and the answer is, absolutely,” said Councilman Noah Blom at the July 23, 2024 city council meeting. “We’re trying to pass the best possible deal we can get.”
The boost of housing units was years in the making, starting when city leaders approved their new state-required housing plan back in 2022, which required a minimum of around 4,800 new housing units to meet the state’s mandates – over 3,000 less units that city officials approved in their updated general plan.
Every city throughout California has to get housing plans cleared with state officials, but the process has faced questions from both local leaders and state officials over how realistic it is that the sites could be developed.
[Read: How Realistic is Orange County’s New Housing Plan?]
While cities are always asked by the state to zone for low-income housing, cities rarely hit their goals, with developers opting instead to build moderate or high-income housing.
It’s unclear whether state regulators would sign off on a plan with the reduced units as California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a series of lawsuits against cities looking to fight state housing mandates.
One of the biggest housing fights in the state has been in Huntington Beach, where city leaders have refused to adopt a housing plan at all, arguing they don’t have the space to do what the state wants.
[Read: How Much is Huntington Beach’s Housing Fight Going to Cost Taxpayers?]
If Newport Beach City Council members opt to have voters take up the issue, they can either schedule a special election for over $1 million or add the initiative to the Nov. 2026 election ballot.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.