Newport Beach voters rejected Measure H by a roughly 2-to-1 margin on Nov. 3, ending a months-long fight over the city's housing plan.

Unofficial results from the Orange County Registrar of Voters, updated at 5 p.m. Nov. 4, show 19,153 No votes (67.28%) to 9,314 Yes votes (32.72%), according to the Newport Beach Civic Ledger. The Registrar has not yet formally certified the canvass.

The defeat leaves the city's General Plan unchanged. Measure H, formally called the Responsible Housing Initiative, would have cut the number of housing units allowed in five areas from 8,174 to 2,900. All 2,900 would have been reserved for extremely low- to moderate-income households.

The five areas affected were the Airport Area, Newport Center, Coyote Canyon, West Newport Mesa and Dover/Westcliff.

What was at stake

Newport Beach's state-assigned housing allocation for 2021 to 2029 is 4,845 new units. The California Department of Housing and Community Development found the city's housing element in compliance on Oct. 5, 2022, and again on Nov. 21, 2024, according to the Civic Ledger's housing tracker.

Opponents of Measure H, including Council members Noah Blom, Michelle Barto and Sara Weber, argued the cuts would put the city out of compliance with state housing law and risk penalties, Voice of OC reported. The City Attorney's impartial analysis stated the measure's requirements "could constrain the City's ability to satisfy" state housing obligations.

Supporters, including former Mayor Marshall "Duffy" Duffield and the group Still Protecting Our Newport, said the measure would prevent overdevelopment and traffic, Voice of OC reported. The Newport Beach Stewardship Association (NBSA) sponsored the petition that placed it on the ballot. Voice of OC reported the initiative was primarily financed by developer Ken Picerne.

A long road to the ballot

The measure reached voters only after the city tried and failed in three courts to block it.

The city filed a legal challenge in June 2026, arguing the initiative's petition did not meet California Election Code procedural requirements. City Attorney Aaron Harp said in a press release that the filing was "not about the merits of the initiative itself."

Orange County Superior Court Judge Julianne Bancroft ruled Aug. 19 that the petition notice was properly published and denied the city's request to remove the measure from the ballot.

The city appealed twice. The Court of Appeal denied the city's petitions on Aug. 25 and Sept. 9. The California Supreme Court denied the city's petition for review and stay request on Sept. 30, just 34 days before the election.

Separate lawsuits continue

The vote settles the ballot question, but related litigation remains open. NBSA's appeal challenging the city's decision that its Greenlight charter provision was "precluded" by state housing law is fully briefed at the Court of Appeal. As of early October, no oral argument date had been scheduled and no decision had been issued.

A second NBSA case filed May 18 in Superior Court asks the court to declare that city approvals relying on housing overlays are "null and void." As of Oct. 22, no hearing on the merits had been scheduled. A status conference was set for Nov. 12.