CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KERO) — California City and Ridgecrest are two of 15 communities hit with final state warnings for failing to meet housing requirements. They’ve been given 30 days to comply or face legal action.
The governor’s office states that those two Kern County cities are out of compliance with a state law that requires every city to adopt a certified housing element, which is a plan outlining how it will meet housing needs for people at all income levels. State officials say both cities are more than 60 days late getting those plans approved. If they fail to meet the deadlines, they may face enforcement, including referral to the Attorney General.
Dr. Marquette Hawkins is the Mayor for Cal City, and he says, “We’re confident that it will be completed and that we will be in full compliance. That’s never been an issue. Like I said, with this iteration of the council, there are a lot of things we are cleaning up from the previous administration, but this is just one of those things we’ve made a priority. We’re confident that it will be done.”
City officials say they first submitted a draft housing element in 2025 and have been working through multiple rounds of revisions with state housing officials, consultants, and the city’s planning department.
“We’ve been in contact and in compliance and in communication with them for over a year now, so we’ve been working with them on this with our consultants and our planning department, commission, and council.” Dr. Marquette Hawkins said.
The city says the updated housing element was posted for public review in March and will next go before the Planning Commission in April, before heading to the City Council for a final vote in May. If approved, city leaders say it would move California City closer to meeting state housing requirements and avoiding further enforcement action.
As for Ridgecrest, city officials have not yet responded to requests for comment by news time.
The state says communities that fail to comply could ultimately face lawsuits or further enforcement action from the Attorney General. Cities and counties have until April 24th to respond before the state can move forward with additional enforcement steps.
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