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Council acknowledges HCD finding of housing-element noncompliance; city says it is accelerating rezoning work
Summary
Public commenters and council members discussed a California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) notice finding Costa Mesa’s housing element and rezoning out of compliance and requiring a written response. Council said staff is working with HCD on an accelerated schedule and identified the housing element as a high priority.
Public commenters and council members raised an HCD notice that the city had not timely adopted a substantially compliant housing element and related rezoning, citing California Government Code section 65585. A resident said the city’s Aug. 22 letter from HCD gave a deadline of Sept. 21, 2025 to respond and warned of possible actions including referral to the state attorney general.
Council members and the mayor acknowledged the notice during council comments and described it as a high-priority compliance issue. Mayor John B. Stephens said he had participated in a call with HCD staff and city staff, and that HCD’s message was blunt: the city had to have completed certain actions years earlier and the state expected an accelerated schedule going forward.
The mayor and council said City Hall recently hired a new city manager and planning staff are working on rezoning and community engagement steps; the mayor said the city intends to meet HCD’s accelerated timeline. Council member Jeff Pettis read a copy of the HCD finding into the record and urged the city to address related permitting and responsiveness issues that residents and commenters have raised.
No formal legislative action was taken at the Oct. 7 meeting beyond council members’ statements of intent to prioritize the housing element and rezoning work. The city manager said staff are working with HCD to accelerate outreach and technical amendments and that the city is treating the matter as a top priority.
