State authorities are following up on a March promise to sue Turlock over the city’s housing policy.
Patterson and Merced County got off California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s naughty list by updating their housing elements since his stern warning in March.
Escalon and Atwater, however, have not been sued despite neither finishing an update to its housing element, a roadmap for home construction in a city or county.
All were among 15 cities and counties facing legal action, all but two in the San Joaquin Valley, from a state whose top leader appears to be gearing up for a presidential run.
Turlock is among five cities now being sued by California, and it’s the only one in the Valley, despite others being in similar phases of noncompliance.
Other municipalities being sued are Calexico, Costa Mesa, Half Moon Bay and Ridgecrest. Huntington Beach defied the state for years over its housing element and faces $170,000 in fines, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak – a conservative leader who has crossed swords with the left-leaning governor on unrelated housing matters – wonders if her city is being picked on.
“This isn’t any political game by me though,” she said.
Last year, Newsom publicly scolded Turlock over homeless shelter funding, and Bublak responded with an opinion column criticizing his indignation.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s lawsuit against Turlock notes that city leaders had more than two years to get their act together.
Cities and counties are an important partner in the state’s goal to ease homelessness by increasing housing stock throughout California. The local agencies must demonstrate in housing element documents how they intend to meet growth mandates.
And more that 500 other cities and counties figured out how to comply with state requirements, so they’re not being sued, the state notes.
All Stanislaus and Merced agencies threatened in March said they had every intention of complying with California requirements. As proof, Turlock leaders shared a lengthy history of communicating with state housing officials, and some local leaders expressed frustration at the slow pace of give-and-take with the state.
“They know we’re close to the goal line,” Bublak said. In that light, the lawsuit “seems silly,” she said.
Turlock’s black eyes in the media
Turlock has struggled lately with less-than-flattering headlines.
- The Turlock Gospel Mission sued City Hall last week in an attempt to force completion of a day center remodel.
- John J. Murphy overcame concerns of some Turlock residents regarding multimillion-dollar lawsuits tied to his prior service in Palmdale to become Turlock city manager in late June.
- Turlock City Attorney Katie Lucchesi, hired in March, is accused of misconduct while previously serving as Lodi’s city attorney in an early June lawsuit filed by a former Lodi city manager against that city.
The accusations “don’t concern me at all,” Bublak said. “Anytime employees are unhappy, they blame the top people. We vetted them. Our city council members are five different people, and all five agreed on both appointments.”
A former police officer in Modesto and Richmond, Bublak in June won gold medals in javelin and shot put at the US Police & Fire Championships in San Diego. First elected mayor in 2018, her second term is up this year, and three opponents – Jim Reape, Kelley Coelho and Jeremy Rocha – have announced they will challenge her.
Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact him at garth@themodestofocus.org.