Coronado, CA - April 07: Myelin Soret, left, has worked as a housekeeper at the historic Hotel del Coronado hotel for nine years and takes two busses to get to work from Imperial Beach that takes one to two hours, walks with Yolanda Ramirez, who has worked as a room attendant at the historic Hotel del Coronado hotel for five years and has a 45-minute commute to work in Coronado Friday, April 7, 2023. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The city of Coronado is in a dispute with the state of California on developing a required affordable housing plan. Despite the state passing a raft of new laws saying theyll be holding cities accountable, Coronado has been out of compliance with state law for years with little consequence.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Wealthy Coronado agrees to support more affordable housing after state pressure

California Politics ,Homepage News

Liam Dillon

Oct. 20, 2023

After more than two years of resistance, the city of Coronado, a wealthy island city in San Diego County, has agreed to follow a state affordable housing law by setting aside more land for development, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced Friday.

In a new legal settlement with the state, the city will allow for the construction of more than 900 homes, more than 70% of which should be accessible to low- and moderate-income families.

"There's no question that this moment is long overdue I want to thank the current Coronado City Council for finally doing the right thing," Bonta said in a news release. "The housing crisis we are facing in California is enormous, and the only way we can tackle it is if every local government follows the law and builds its fair share of housing."

State law requires all communities in California to plan for a set amount of new homes through a complex formula that resets every eight years based on projected population increases and

proximity to jobs and mass transit. The law doesnt mandate that cities build or approve new housing, just that they zone for it.

Few, if any, communities in California have been more resistant to the law than Coronado, a resort destination where

median home value, according to real estate website Zillow, tops $2.4 million. The city

began fighting its 912-unit allocation four years ago, including filing a failed lawsuit against the process.

City leaders had openly flouted the law, complaining that its requirements didn't take into account the island's geography and that military installations cover large stretches of the community, leaving little vacant land. Residents also have argued that more affordable housing would bring crime and lower property values.

The legal settlement requires Coronado to adopt a state-approved housing plan by mid-April and then complete its rezoning by early May. If it doesn't, the city may lose some local control over development decisions and ultimately face fines. The city took its first steps to approve the plan earlier this week, according to the Coronado Times local newspaper.

"With a shared goal of developing a meaningful and achievable plan to reach compliance, weve found resolution to a years-long challenge," said Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey, who had been opposed to the state mandates, in Friday's statement.

Coronado's plan was

due in April 2021. At the time, according to

a Los Angeles Times report this spring, a city council member

residents not to worry

the law because

the city would "probably have a few years" before the state cracked down.

Bonta cited The Times' reporting in his statement Friday, saying that the settlement shows housing regulators

will act.

communities

roughly a quarter of those with plans already due in the current eight-year period are currently out of compliance, according to data from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.