Huntington Beach city council struck down a motion April 19 to file a lawsuit against its state-mandated housing allocation. Councilmember Erik Peterson brought forward a motion to appeal Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and initiate a lawsuit in state court. Council voted down the motion 5-2. “Filing this appeal is the next logical step in trying to maintain a semblance of our local control,” Peterson said during the April 19 council meeting. “It’s a simple question—accept SCAG’s ruling, or fight for our locals and our local control.” City council members are unhappy with the state-mandated housing allocation of 13,368 units to be built by 2029 and have tried different avenues to fight it. It previously discussed in closed session March 15 appealing to SCAG for a reduction in its 13,368 new housing allocation mandate and decided to take no action. Huntington Beach is one of many Orange County cities that have unsuccessfully appealed for lower Regional Housing Needs …