A lawsuit filed by an association of Orange County cities alleges California’s housing mandate violated the state local planning laws. The Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG) filed the lawsuit June 21 against the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) regarding the 1.34 million home mandate in Southern California; about 183,000 of those units are in Orange County. “HCD did not follow the statutes outlined in state law to develop the projected number of units needed in the next eight years to adequately house Orange County’s population,” OCCOG Chair Trevor O’Neil said in a statement. Cities must demonstrate they have enough land designated and made available for residential development as part of the state’s 2021–2029 regional housing needs assessment (RHNA), which is now in its sixth cycle. OCCOG’s board of directors unanimously voted to file a writ of mandate against HCD during its May 27 board meeting. HCD assigned Southern California more …