SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California filed a lawsuit Monday against a Los Angeles suburb, alleging that the city’s recent moratorium on homeless shelters and temporary housing violates the state’s fair housing laws and anti-discrimination.

The lawsuit is part of an ongoing effort by Gov. Gavin Newsom to push back against what he sees as local resistance and disregard for state laws in the face of California’s desperate need for new housing. The crisis has caused an increase in the number of homeless people in the country’s most populous state.

Norwalk, a city of 100,000 about 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles, becomes the latest city to face state lawsuits over its housing policy. This happened after the city council voted in September to extend his temporary ban on new homeless shelters and emergency housing.

City council members, in a recent statement, said Norwalk has done its fair share to address the homeless crisis, but that previous public programs, including one that puts homeless people in motel roomshave given rise to public safety concerns. The moratorium, which remains in force until next year, has already blocked plan by Los Angeles County in September to house homeless people in a city hotel.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court claims the city violated half a dozen housing laws by enacting such a moratorium. He is asking the court to suspend enforcement of the city’s law.

“Our message is clear, our message is consistent,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday. “If local governments try to circumvent state housing laws, if they refuse to do the bare minimum to address California’s dire lack of affordable and accessible housing, we will hold them accountable.

Monday’s lawsuit comes after Newsom publicly lambasted Norwalk and urged local elected officials to reconsider the policy. In September, the state warned the city of possible legal action and last month revoked the city’s housing plan, disqualifying it from receiving state funding for housing and homeless programs. Bonta said state officials also met with the city last week, but to no avail.

“The failure of the Norwalk City Council to overturn this ban, despite knowing it is illegal, is inexcusable,” Newsom said in a statement Monday. “No community should turn its back on its residents in need. »

The city’s mayor and a city spokesperson did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.

California has ramped up enforcement of state housing laws in recent years. He continued at least two cities last year for rejecting affordable housing projects and homeless housing. Last month, Newsom also signed a package of 32 housing bills to make it easier for the state to go after local cities that defy housing laws.

The lawsuit will likely escalate the conflict between state and local governments over how many housing projects cities should approve and how quickly they should build them. California needs to build 2.5 million housing units by 2030 to meet demand, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. But the state is only building an average of about 100,000 new housing units per year, including only 10,000 affordable units.

The Democratic governor, who has ambitions on the national stage, has made housing and homelessness a top priority as California’s leader. His administration has spent about $40 billion to help build affordable housing and $27 billion to find solutions for homelessness. Earlier this summer, he began pressuring local governments to clean the camps who lined the streets and cluttered the entrances to businesses, going as far as threatens to suspend state funding next year if he doesn’t see results.