Los Angeles City Councilman Curren D. Price, Jr. (Ninth District) has introduced two housing-related motions that would address constraints to the production of new affordable housing, and advocates for fair geographic distribution of permanent supportive housing in Los Angeles.
The first motion directs city departments to study the feasibility of creating an “Affordable Housing Development Fast Track Program,” which would allow such projects to benefit from an expedited approval process. It also calls for the city to identify other viable solutions, such as easing the review process and reducing the cost of creating new affordable housing in Los Angeles.
“There are countless projects that unfortunately never get off the drawing board because of the costs and risks involved in the city review process,” Price said. “We need to consider all possible avenues so that we are in a better position to meet the soaring housing demands for our most vulnerable populations. It’s time we take a closer look at how we review the development of affordable housing and remove unnecessary roadblocks.”
Price has also introduced a motion that would reform the process by which Proposition HHH (Prop HHH) funds are allocated. In 2017, voters approved the Prop. HHH bond measure to build 10,000 homeless housing units with wrap-around services over the next decade.
However, most of the HHH projects now in the pipeline are concentrated in disadvantaged communities such as the ninth district. For this reason, Price said he is instructing city departments to take into account market values and economic conditions.
The motion by Price asks the city to consider restructuring the subsidies provided to developers building permanent supportive housing in higher cost, more affluent areas in LA.
“We must address the realities that make it difficult for projects in higher resource areas to come to fruition,” Price said. “Each district in our city bears the responsibility to fix the homeless crisis and the weight must be distributed equally.
“Doing so would allow for more equal distribution of homeless housing projects throughout the city so that neighbors like those within the Ninth Council District don’t experience an over concentration and can continue to enjoy economic growth.”
As of December 2018, Price had authorized the building of nearly 500 permanent supportive housing units in his district.
