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DISCUSSION <br /> The Court's Order <br /> On March 12, 2010, Judge Roesch issued his decision (a copy of which is attached), <br /> which may be distilled as follows: <br /> the Cap conflicts with State law RHNA requirements. <br /> the City cured any defects in its Growth Management Ordinance by its recent <br /> (October 2009) amendment allowing the Council to override the ordinance to <br /> satisfy RHNA requirements. <br /> the City failed to carry out a mandatory duty, under Program 19.1 of the 2003 <br /> Housing Element and under the Least Cost Zoning Law, to rezone sufficient <br /> properties to high density residential (e.g., 30 units /acre) in order to <br /> accommodate the remaining housing units required for the Third Planning <br /> Period. Although in October 2009, the City Council rezoned properties in the <br /> Hacienda Business Park to meet this obligation, the Court agreed with Urban <br /> Habitat that this rezoning was "illusory," and did not satisfy Program 19.1 or State <br /> law because it did not actually allow development to occur until after completion <br /> of the Hacienda PUD amendment process that is anticipated to last at least one <br /> year. <br /> The Court's order invalidates the Cap in its entirety. It also directs the City to: <br /> "cease and desist" from enforcing, administering and /or implementing the Cap. <br /> remove references to the Cap from its General Plan. <br /> affect sufficient, "non- illusory" rezonings to accommodate the "unmet" RHNA <br /> (521 units) for the Third Planning Period. <br /> cease issuing any non residential building and all related permits for construction <br /> or development until it brings its General Plan into compliance. <br /> Actions the Order Directs the City to Take <br /> Once the Court's decision is final, it will require the City to take certain actions to <br /> comply, and prevents the City from certain other actions, as follows: <br /> 1. Cease and desist from enforcing /implementing Cap; remove Cap references <br /> from the General Plan. <br /> While to date the City has never actually "enforced" the Cap, insofar as the City <br /> currently has nearly 3,000 units remaining before the Cap is exhausted, Urban Habitat <br /> and the Attorney General produced evidence from developers that they have found the <br /> Cap to present a disincentive to proposing and applying for residential development <br /> projects. Urban Habitat and the Attorney General have also argued that the Cap will <br /> preclude the City from accommodating its RHNA in its updated Housing Element for the <br /> next (Fourth) Planning Period. Specifically, their argument has been that even if the <br /> Page 3 of 6 <br />