Los Angeles City Council Votes to Incentivize Affordable Housing in High Resource Areas

LOS_ANGELES–The Los Angeles City Council requested the creation of an ordinance to encourage affordable housing development in these areas in an attempt to increase affordability in the wealthier neighborhoods.

Only 14 percent of the affordable housing units permitted in Los Angeles during the past decade were located within high-resource neighborhoods, while 86 percent were in neighborhoods deemed low-resource and high-poverty.

” I want to ensure that the balance looks a bit better for Los Angeles moving forward,” stated Nithya RAMAN, Councilwoman. She introduced the original motion along with Marqueece Harris–Dawson in August 2021.

The council voted 12-0 Aug. 26 to direct the Department of City Planning to prepare an ordinance that would expand incentives for projects located on land already zoned for multi-family housing, with a focus on commercial zones, transit areas, and corridors.

The city will also encourage projects on public land, parking areas, and land held by faith-based organizations.

The incentives might include “ministerial approbation” for these projects. This would mean that the permitting process could be simplified and approval granted to the project as long as the objective standards are met.

The council directed the department to submit back recommendations on a program for local incentives to increase affordable housing for those who live in high-resource areas.

Nearly 76 % of Los Angeles’s most resource-rich areas have been designated for single family homes. However, 18 1% of “high-segregation, poverty areas” are zoned only for single-family residences, according to city planners last year.

Councilman Mike Bonin said that affordable housing was difficult to construct in Westside. He urged officials to come back with something as solid as possible, that would make it compulsory to do it .”

The council asked for alternatives to creating an “Affordable Housing Overlay Zone”. Raman stated that this would make it economically possible for developers to construct affordable housing projects in more resourceful areas. It is also less expensive to build homes in wealthy neighborhoods.

The zoning will allow for more affordable housing near transit schools, public parks and grocery stores as well as health centers.

According to UC Berkeley’s Other & Belonging Institute, Los Angeles was the sixth-most segregated metro region with a population of more than 200,000 as of 2019.

” Any way that we can improve a policy encouraging affordable [housing] in the city and encourages it throughout the entire city is a positive thing,” said Councilman Mitch O’Farrell. The burden for affordable housing production should not be shared by any of four or two council districts. This should apply to all cities. It’s fairer and more equitable .”

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