California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Governor Gavin Newsom, and California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez today announced reaching a settlement with the City of Norwalk, resolving the state’s lawsuit over the City’s unlawful ban on new housing for California’s most vulnerable residents. Filed on November 4, 2024, the lawsuit alleged that the City’s ban on emergency shelters, supportive housing, single-room occupancy housing, and transitional housing violated numerous state laws and sought an order compelling the City to repeal the ban. On February 19, 2025, Attorney General Bonta, Governor Newsom, and HCD Director Velasquez secured a decision from the Los Angeles County Superior Court denying the City’s attempt to dismiss the state’s lawsuit. As part of today’s settlement, the City of Norwalk will, among other things, repeal its unlawful ban, create a housing trust fund for the development of affordable housing within the City’s limits, deposit $250,000 into that trust fund, implement all overdue housing element programs, and take several steps to ensure that stakeholders know that the housing ban has been repealed and that applications for housing development projects will be processed in accordance with state law. The settlement is subject to court approval.