A resident-sponsored initiative that proposes to limit state-required housing in Newport Beach will be put before the city’s voters in November.
Known as Measure H, the initiative proposes reducing the number of units the city includes in its state-mandated housing element by 65%.
The housing plan adopted by the City Council in July 2024, and subsequently approved by the state, calls for 8,174 new housing units in Newport Beach. The city isn’t expected to be the builder of those units, just have zoning and planning in place for their development.
But sponsors of the initiative say that number should be brought down to 2,900 units to meet the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation across the five areas where city officials have proposed developments.
Of that number, 2,160 would be reserved for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households, with the remainder designated for moderate-income households, the measure says.
“Last time we checked, voters get to decide what is best for our city,” the initiative’s supporters said in their ballot argument in favor. “And the housing plan the community has proposed in Measure H satisfies state housing laws.”
The measure, according to an impartial analysis by Newport Beach City Attorney Aaron Harp, establishes a density range of 20 to 50 units per gross acre, plus additional density permitted by state law, “which may affect how residential development is distributed among sites.”
If the California Department of Housing and Community Development says this measure lowers housing growth, or if state law requires more housing, Harp also said the city may have to update its housing plan.
“Because the measure would establish voter-approved limitations on housing locations, densities, and affordability requirements, the city’s ability tomodify housing capacity, designate replacement sites or respond to future state housing requirements may be limited without voter approval,” Harp’s analysis says.
If the city doesn’t follow state law, it could face lawsuits and expensive fines, he noted.
Supporters of the measure say that the plan laid out in the initiative does not limit growth to only affordable housing. The plan accounts for all of the market-rate housing units previously approved by the city, they said in their ballot argument.
“Newport Beach needs more housing options,” the supporters of the initiative said. “But not unnecessary overdevelopment at the expense of our shared history. We can do better. Our measure calls for responsible housing planning. There is no need to change what has made Newport Beach the place we all call home.”
Councilmembers Noah Blom, Michelle Barto, and Sara Weber penned the ballot argument offering an opposing view of the proposed measure.
They said, in their analysis, the measure asks voters to discard “years of professional planning and public input in favor of a ballot-box rewrite” and could put the city at odds with the state.
“By restricting market-rate housing above moderate income, it pushes development into narrow income tiers, concentrating lower-income housing into fivedistinct communities rather than supporting integrated, mixed-income communities that provide greater housing diversity,” they said, adding it could make housing development hard to finance and could reduce the flexibility to evolve with future needs.