The January 31st California deadline for cities to adopt “Housing Element” plans to meet the state’s housing requirements has come and gone, and now housing advocates are taking them to task. At least a dozen Bay Area cities, including Cupertino, Pleasant Hill, Novato and  Burlingame are being sued by Californians for Homeownership, California Housing Defense Fund and YIMBY Law for failing to finish their plans on time. 

The housing coalition has also sued Santa Clara County, saying the failure of several cities to submit a housing plan to the state by the deadline reflect back on the entire county, according to Courthouse News Service. A spokesman for Housing Defense Fund said the housing crisis cannot be fixed when local governments drag their feet looking for loopholes to avoid their responsibility to provide needed housing growth.

Meanwhile, California has rejected the plan put together by the City of Oakland for falling short of the state’s certification requirements. Oakland plans to make revisions and return the improved plan to the state by the deadline at the end of May.