LA Mayor Villaraigosa's Five-Year Plan Is Bold and Refreshing

 

By Beth Steckler, contributing writer from Housing LA

In late September, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa unveiled the City's first strategic multi-year plan for reversing the city's housing crisis, "Housing That Works: A 5-Year, $5 Billion Housing Plan for LA's Families." The plan sets goals and strategies for the 5 city agencies that a play major role in building and preserving housing that is affordable-the Housing Department, Community Redevelopment Agency, City Planning Department, Housing Authority, and the LA Homeless Services Authority (a joint city-county agency). After a long history of not coordinating their efforts, getting these 5 departments working together as part of a "Housing Cabinet" may be the most valuable part of the 5-year plan.

Housing That Works also moves the city away from measuring success in terms of fully funding the $100 million housing trust fund to measuring a more concrete outcome: the number of new affordable homes. The plan ambitiously calls for 20,000 new homes affordable to people across the economic spectrum, with nearly 7 out of 10 affordable to people with incomes below $42,000(1). The plan focuses the City's financial investment on affordable homes for the chronically homeless and low-income workers. New approaches including mixed-income requirements, land use strategies, foreclosure intervention and employer assisted housing are put forth to spur production of homes affordable to people with incomes over $47,000.

The plan is organized in 4 parts: raising the capital to carry out the plan, building and preserving homes for working people, shifting from managing homelessness to moving people out of it, and protecting our homes and neighborhoods. On the capital front, the City has partnered with Enterprise Community Partners to raise $700 million in new residential investment. The plan also calls for a new Mixed-Income Housing ordinance, creating sustainable transit communities and streamlining development by centralizing permit approvals from 12 departments down to 2. For neighborhoods hard hit by foreclosures, the plan calls for additional counseling as well as programs that will turn around already foreclosed, blighted properties. The plan's preservation efforts are centered on maintaining the affordability of 14,000 apartments nearing the end of their subsidy terms and increasing awareness of rent control rules among landlords and tenants.

LA's housing crisis has been many years in the making and it will not be resolved with one set of policy changes. But, the Mayor's Five Year Housing Plan is a historic step because it takes a comprehensive approach to setting concrete mid-term goals. We are hopeful that the plan will bring more transparency, coordination and resources to reversing the crisis.

To download a copy of Mayor Villaraigosa's plan for more homes that are affordable visit this link.
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(1)  2,200 units for the chronically homeless
      8,800 units for people with incomes below $29,000/year (50% AMI)
      2,800 units for people with incomes below $42,000/year (80% AMI)
      2,600 units for people with incomes below $52,000/year (120% AMI)
      2,600 units for people with incomes below $90,000/year (200% AMI)