Norwalk will overturn a housing ban and agreed to pay $250,000 toward new affordable housing projects.
The Southern California city of Norwalk agreed to repeal a ban on homeless shelters and pay $250,000 toward new affordable housing projects to settle a state lawsuit, state officials announced on Sept. 5.
The suburb of Los Angeles will also submit reports to the California Department of Housing and Community Development on the status of affordable housing projects to allow the state to monitor the city’s actions, according to the agreement.
The settlement, if approved by the court, will also require the city to create an affordable housing trust fund.
“The Norwalk city council’s failure to reverse this ban without a lawsuit, despite knowing it is unlawful, is inexcusable,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
Norwalk City Council unanimously passed an urgency zoning ordinance on Aug. 6, 2024, imposing a 45-day ban on new emergency shelters, supportive housing, single-room occupancy housing, and transitional housing.
In response to the housing ban, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Newsom, and the state’s director of housing development filed a lawsuit in November 2024 against the city located about 15 miles south of Los Angeles. The state alleged the city’s ban violated several state laws and asked the court to repeal them.
In October, California also decertified Norwalk’s housing sector, making the city ineligible for housing and homelessness funding. The city could also no longer deny permits to “builder’s remedy” affordable housing projects, according to Bonta’s office.
“This case should send a clear message: When a city’s leaders disregard the law to block housing—especially housing for those in most need—this Administration will take swift legal action,” said state Housing Director Gustavo Velasquez.
The settlement ensures Norwalk will accept and process housing project applications and contribute funding for affordable housing development, and work with Los Angeles County to address homeless housing needs, Velasquez added.
The city asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, but the request was denied in February.
According to Norwalk officials, the city’s homeless housing ban was not about neglecting homeless housing.
“The City’s moratorium was never about turning our back on those in need—it was about pressing pause to ensure that the mistakes of past projects weren’t repeated in Norwalk,” a city spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email. “Too often, cities have seen homeless programs rushed into place without adequate safeguards, accountability, or coordination. That approach fails both the unhoused and the broader community.”
