City of Irvine v. Southern California Association of Governments

This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing a petition for a writ of mandate entered after the trial court sustained a demurrer to the petition without leave to amend. The issue presented is whether the administrative procedure established under Government Code section 65584 et seq. (all further statutory references are to the Government Code unless otherwise stated) to calculate a local government’s allocation of the regional housing needs assessment (RHNA) is intended to be the exclusive remedy for the municipality to challenge that determination and thereby preclude judicial review of the decision. We conclude the answer to this question is yes and affirm the judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Since this case involves a dismissal entered after the trial court sustained a demurrer to the petition without leave to amend, we “assume[] the truth of all properly pleaded material facts unless contradicted by judicially noticed matters” and “determine[] whether, reading the petition as a whole and giving it a reasonable interpretation, the pleading states facts sufficient to state a cause of action or a reasonable possibility exists that any defects can be cured by…