The mayor of Newport Beach said his city will face a challenge to add the required number of new units mandated by the state in an effort to create affordable housing in Orange County. Per California’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) mandate, Newport Beach needs to meet the state’s quota of 4,834 new high-density and affordable housing units by October 2029. Mayor Brad Avery said developing housing at such a fast pace will make it difficult to produce quality housing that people want to live in. “If we’re under the gun and there’s time pressure, what kind of development do you end up doing? … I don’t know how many cities are going to meet that deadline, us included,” he said during a Feb. 10 public Zoom meeting. “We’re clearly under the gun with that deadline.” Last month, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) rejected appeals by the Orange …