TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David Chantarangsu, AICP, Development Services Director
PREPARED BY: David Chantarangsu, AICP, Development Services Director
SUBJECT:
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Presentation from Staff on the Growing Negative Impact of State Housing Laws that are Stripping Away Local Control from the City of Murrieta and Cities Across the State and Forcing the Approval of Unwanted High-Density Housing
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RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council receive the presentation from staff, accept public testimony, and provide further direction to staff if needed.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
At its Special Workshop on February 10, 2025, establishing City Council priorities, the City Council prioritized holding a Town Hall meeting or community summit to discuss changes in California multi-family housing building laws and affordable housing. This effort is also related to the City Council’s effort to disseminate the resolution regarding local control approved by the City Council in December 2024 (Attachment 1).
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Foster and promote an engaged, connected and caring community.
BACKGROUND
In recent years, California has implemented a series of aggressive housing laws that have significantly diminished the authority of cities to shape their own land use policies. These laws have effectively transferred land use control from local governments to the state, forcing communities to accept multi-family and high-density housing developments that could previously be rejected if environmental impacts were too significant. What was once a local decision-making process guided by thoughtful planning, resident input, and long-term vision is now governed by mandates that prioritize housing quantity over neighborhood quality, infrastructure readiness, and community values.
State-imposed housing mandates increasingly disregard the cumulative impacts of development on traffic congestion, school capacity, public safety, and environmental sustainability. Under the threat of fines of up to $50,000 per housing unit in any housing development that is denied, in addition to other egregious sanctions, cities are being compelled to approve projects without the ability to ensure that infrastructure, public services, or other critical resources are in place to support them.
A prime example is SB 743, implemented in 2018, which eliminated the use of traffic congestion as a recognized environmental impact under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), undermining decades of transportation planning efforts and local control.
Residential neighborhoods-carefully planned and built over generations-are now being reshaped by top-down legislation that allows little to no room for local discretion or community voice. It has been reported that over 90 housing laws have been passed since 2018, impacting local government land use authority to support housing. In the current legislative session, over 160 housing bills are being considered.
As land use authority continues to shift to Sacramento, cities and counties committed to thoughtful, balanced planning are left contending with one-size-fits-all policies that ignore local realities that are horribly detrimental to suburban cities like Murrieta. At the workshop, staff will present key state legislation enacted by the Legislature and signed by Governor Newsom that has significantly curtailed local land use authority-often without consideration for the on-the-ground impacts these laws impose on communities.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution No. 24-4799