HOUSING FOR ALL: FAIR SHARE PROGRAM
Housing For All:
Fair Share Program
Table of Contents
I. Introduction...................................................................................................1
II. What This Proposal Will Accomplish.........................................................4
III. Overview of "Housing for All: Fair Share Program" ...............................5
IV. Plan Details....................................................................................................6
1. Create Overlay Zones in Specific Areas in Each Council District for
Targeted Housing Production ...............................................................................6
2. Procedure for Implementation ..............................................................................7
3. "Fair Share" Concept............................................................................................7
4. Developer Incentives for Production of Affordable Housing ...............................8
5. Improve City-Wide Density Bonus ....................................................................10
6. Rewarding Flexibility: Dedicate Revenue Streams to Neighborhoods
that Embrace New Residential Development .....................................................11
7. Give the City the Right to Set Aside New Rental and For Sale Housing at
Fair Market Value...............................................................................................12
V. Increase Funding for Affordable Housing................................................14
1. $500 Million Bond..............................................................................................14
2. Prop 46 State Bond Funds ..................................................................................14
3. Property Tax Increment Financing .....................................................................14
4. Housing Trust Fund ............................................................................................14
VI. Additional Development Reforms .............................................................15
1. Make M.O.R.E Lands Available for Residential Development..........................15
2. Reassess "One-size Fits All" Approach..............................................................15
3. Create a Fire Zone 1A.........................................................................................15
4. Review, Update, and Improve Transportation Plans ..........................................16
5. Defer Regulatory Costs of Development ............................................................16
6. Revise SB 975 ....................................................................................................16
7. Incentivize Mixed Use........................................................................................16
8. Meet the Rules, Get Your Permit! ......................................................................16
9. Encourage Public and Private Housing Rehabilitation .......................................16
VII. Action Items for the Next 90 Days.............................................................18
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HOUSING FOR ALL:
FAIR SHARE PROGRAM
I. INTRODUCTION
he City of Los Angeles is in the grips of a housing crisis. New housing production
has chronically failed to meet the region's housing need, causing housing prices to
skyrocket. With the inevitability of population growth, we must work to find
practical solutions to increase the supply of housing to serve the needs of all segments of the population. The population of the City of Los Angeles grew by more than 65,000 last year, but we added fewer than 9,000 new housing units. Those numbers are going to continue to diverge if we do not address the problem now. A study by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has projected that the region will grow by 6.3 million residents by the year 2030, a 37% increase above the current population. Already, people cannot afford to live in, or even close to, the neighborhoods where they work. Teachers, firefighters, police officers, nurses, City administrators, and others with median level incomes cannot afford to buy even a modest home. The working poor are also shut out of housing opportunities. With current housing stock so scarce, we must ask how we can increase the production of housing at all income levels, because a city cannot thrive if it cannot affordably house its resident workforce. It has become all too clear that Los Angeles must provide incentives for the production of more housing units overall in order to adequately serve the needs of all segments of the population.
The Fair Share Program would develop more housing of all types and would distribute them all across the City. It would provide incentives to build more housing by cutting through the red tape. It rejects one-size-fits-all regulation and encourages flexibility and neighborhood control. The Program would focus on "workforce" housing for police and firefighters and teachers, while also raising the funds necessary to build more affordable housing for those with low- and very low-incomes. The cost of providing affordable housing would no longer be borne by first-time workforce and middle-class homebuyers, and would instead be distributed more fairly. It is an ambitious and comprehensive plan because that is what this challenge demands. Short-term, easy fixes have been tried and they have failed. The cookie-cutter approach does not work when faced with the enormity, complexity and importance of providing housing for millions in our community.
HOUSING FOR ALL: FAIR SHARE PROGRAM |p2
All too often, cities resort to passing sweeping "inclusionary zoning" laws to address these
types of challenges, mostly due to their simplicity and the support they enjoy from housing
advocates. Such a proposal is now before the Los Angeles City Council. These zoning rules require homebuilders to sell or lease a fixed percentage of their new houses or apartments- as much as 40% of the units - to selected low-income individuals at prices below what everyone else must pay. The difference in cost is borne by other buyers and renters through higher prices for market rate units. Such a program will not be effective in increasing housing production. In fact, mandatory inclusionary zoning will reduce housing production and exacerbate the housing crisis. If the current proposal before the Council were enacted, these standards would result in fewer housing units, higher prices on new homes, and a reduced overall housing supply. Mandatory inclusionary zoning is a tax on middle-class homebuyers and a more comprehensive strategy is needed in Los Angeles.
With support and encouragement from the business and development communities, the City of Los Angeles has made great strides over the last few years in increasing the amount of affordable housing within the City. Under Mayor Hahn's leadership, many more State and Federal dollars have been captured for Los Angeles' housing needs. Due to Mayor Hahn's creation of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, more than 44% of housing production in the City over the past 3 years was affordable.
These noteworthy numbers were achieved in the absence of a mandatory inclusionary
zoning policy. Our primary concern in this undertaking is to provide the means for building the housing we need. But there are other reasons for fostering a healthy housing market. The housing industry is one of the great engines of the Los Angeles Area economy, generating $33 billion in economic activity and creating more than 88,000 jobs. We cannot afford to let this economic engine stand idle, or worse, stall because of unnecessary regulation and a new bureaucracy. In the interest of developing a comprehensive policy that addresses housing production in the City of Los Angeles, the business community has developed a 2-part plan. The first part, "10 Point Plan: Creating Housing for All," is a statement of the guiding principles that should lay the foundation for any housing policy.1 The 10 Point Plan underscores the need for a thoughtful, balanced policy that applies city-wide, yet is flexible enough to suit the unique character and feel of Los Angeles' varied communities. It also asserts that any program that does not offset the cost of building affordable housing will simply act as a tax on the non-subsidized portion of the housing market, which will also deter housing development and therefore drive up prices up by constricting supply. The second part of the plan, the "Housing for All: Fair Share Program," recognizes that an effective solution to Los Angeles' affordable housing crisis must account for the legal, 1 Please see attached, "10 Point Plan: Creating Housing for All."
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economic, and practical realities of modern residential development by simultaneously
providing incentives for housing production at all levels. It is only by increasing the total
supply of housing that the City will make true strides in its attempt to provide housing for
all. Affordability begins with availability.
That is what our plan would accomplish - not years away, but right now.
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II. WHAT THIS PROPOSAL WILL ACCOMPLISH
?? Increase Production of Affordable Housing: It will produce a supply of affordable
housing in the City of Los Angeles that will help keep pace with the increasing need.
?? Each District Shares Burden: It will ensure that each district of the City provides an
equal number of units to meet the City's goal - its "fair share" of the required units.
?? Increase Workforce Housing: It will ensure that the City expands its focus of needed
housing to "workforce" housing that will house moderate-income families such as
entry-level police officers, teachers and nurses. At the same time, it increases funding
for households earning less than 60% of area median income through funds from the
issuance of a $500 million Affordable Housing Bond.
?? Provides Money for Neighborhoods: It will incentivize neighborhoods to support
more housing production by providing them funding for infrastructure improvements
and other neighborhood amenities.
?? One-Size Does Not Fit All: It will give control and flexibility to each Council District
to determine, in conjunction with their Neighborhood Councils and the Planning
Department, the commercial and transit corridors that would be appropriate for
housing projects ("Housing Incentive Zones"). This stands in stark contrast to the
current "one-size-fits-all" proposal.
?? Expedites the Development Process: It will promote development reform to allow
housing projects at all income levels to move expeditiously through the City's
entitlement process, while incentivizing developers to produce more affordable
housing by providing by-right incentives in Housing Incentive Zones in exchange for
the guarantee of a fixed percentage set-aside, adjusted according to income level.
?? Distributes the Cost of Affordable Housing: It will fairly allocate the cost of
producing affordable housing amongst the citizens, the City and developers by
including an Affordable Housing Bond and using property tax increment to provide a
much-needed revenue source for communities that accept increased density.
?? Addresses All Income Levels: It proposes to use bond money to fund housing for
low- and very-low income households, while incentivizing private developers to
produce housing for moderate-income and workforce households.
?? Builds on Existing Law: It will more effectively utilize and improve existing
incentives for affordable housing.
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III. OVERVIEW OF "HOUSING FOR ALL: FAIR SHARE PROGRAM"
Recognizing that Los Angeles is an enormous metropolis with an extraordinary variety of
unique neighborhoods, the current onerous and "one-size fits all" policy does not fit our City. Instead, the City of Los Angeles should institute a results-based pilot program for 5 years that would significantly increase production of both affordable and market rate housing. This program will allow the City to increase the production of housing for all income levels without unfairly burdening market rate renters or buyers, or the private business community that provides the housing. Highlights of the Fair Share Program are as follows:
?? 100,000 Units Over 5 Years
Building on the premise that constraints in supply drive up housing prices, the City would
set a goal of entitling 100,000 units during the 5-year term of the pilot program.
?? Spread Units Evenly Among All 15 Council Districts
Each Council Member would be responsible for ensuring that an equivalent number of
housing units are entitled in each of the 15 Council Districts, thereby equally sharing the
increased density throughout the City.
?? Create "Overlay Zones" in Strategic Areas of the City
The Planning Department would work in conjunction with each Council District to
identify transit and commercial corridors that would be appropriate for housing, (Housing
Incentive Zones), then create Overlay Zones,2 as needed, to allow residential development in sufficient quantity to develop the targeted units per district per year.
?? Increase the Production of Affordable Housing
When developing in these Housing Incentive Zones, the developer has a right to proceed
on one of two tracks: 1) develop according to existing laws, or 2) participate in the Fair
Share Program and obtain by-right incentives, and be required to provide a mandated
percentage of affordable housing. In order not to unfairly tax the private development
industry, developers would only be required to include affordable housing units if the
project receives all of the by-right incentives outlined in the Fair Share Program.
?? City-wide Application
City-wide application of the voluntary inclusionary housing program ensures that each
Council District will do its fair share to solve the problem.
?? Neighborhood Incentives
Neighborhoods directly participate in the financial rewards of increased economic activity
by earning a share of the enhanced tax proceeds (City's share of the property tax
increment) created by new residential development.
2 An "Overlay Zone" encompasses one or more underlying zones and imposes additional requirements for the
development of certain land uses not permitted in the underlying zone. It does not affect existing zoning.
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IV. PLAN DETAILS
1. Create Overlay Zones in Specific Areas in Each Council District for Targeted
Housing Production
?? Premise: Height limitations, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) restrictions, density
restrictions and Specific Plan requirements often preclude the use of the City's
existing density bonus program for affordable housing. As a result, a developer
that wants to use the density bonus must often seek a zone change or a Specific
Plan exception and General Plan amendment. These discretionary approvals may
take years and cost tens of thousands of dollars, and there is no guarantee that
approvals will be granted.
?? Solution: The City can facilitate the use of density and height bonuses and
encourage affordable housing production in targeted locations by creating
Overlay Zones in areas throughout the City that would be appropriate for higher
density market rate projects in which affordable units could be included. In
effect, the City would implement an Overlay Zone that would allow by-right
development in excess of existing height, density, and FAR restrictions in
exchange for a mandated percentage of affordable housing. As a result,
developers would not be forced to bear the expense and delay in rezoning
projects, the City would facilitate the use of the density bonus, and more market
rate and affordable housing would be entitled for by-right development.
?? Targeted Locations for Housing Incentive Zones: The Planning Department,
with input from the Council Member and local Neighborhood Councils, should
identify areas in each Council District that would be suitable for creating an
Overlay Zone to accommodate by-right density bonuses and other incentives to
streamline and expedite the production of affordable housing. Some areas where
Overlay Zones should be used to create a Housing Incentive Zones (HIZ) are3:
?? Residential Accessory Services (RAS) Zones
?? Commercial Zones
?? Transit Corridors
?? "Centers" concept under the General Plan
?? Congestion Management Plan Corridors
3 Because the Fair Share Program is built on the premise of increased FAR, height and density, it would not
apply to Adaptive Reuse projects, which already have a defined building envelope and therefore cannot take advantage of these incentives.
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2. Procedure for Implementation
?? Environmental Review: The Planning Department would recommend zone
changes and General Plan amendments, if necessary, in each Council District for
City Planning Commission approval. The City would then conduct a Program
Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) to study the effects of these zoning
changes. The analysis would be done with sufficient specificity to allow
developers to comply with CEQA4 by reference to, or "tier" off of, the PEIR.5
?? The City Planning Commission would consider the Planning Department report
and approve and recommend to the City Council zone changes so that each
Council District would have Overlay Zones that would produce a roughly equal
number of housing units approved for by-right density bonuses and voluntary
inclusionary housing.
?? The City Planning Commission recommendations would be submitted to the City
Council. The Council would approve or reject the Planning Commission
recommendations as a whole. That is, the City Council would vote the
recommendations "up or down," but would not modify the specifics.6
3. "Fair Share" Concept
?? Under the "Fair Share" concept, the City would set a target number of housing
units it must produce in the immediate future in order to keep up with current and
previously unmet demand. Historical housing production and census data
indicate that the City needs to produce at least 100,000 units over the next five
years in order to meet present demand and also catch up for past years with low
production.7
?? Each Council District would make an equal contribution (for example,
entitlement of approximately 1,300 units per district per year for five years) to
providing affordable housing and increasing housing production. Council
4 California Environmental Quality Act
5 "Tiering" allows for streamlined environmental review of individual projects after an agency has adopted a program, plan, policy or ordinance with an EIR focused on the "big picture." The California State Legislature has decided that EIRs ought to be tiered whenever possible so that agencies can avoid repetitiveness, wasted time, and unnecessary premature speculation by preparing a series of EIRs and/or negative declarations on related projects.
6 The federal government successfully used this approach in its efforts to close military bases. In the base closure context, the Department of Defense formed a commission that was charged with making recommendations to close military bases on the merits- that is, bases that were not needed for military purposes, rather than economic importance to any particular congressional district. The commission's recommendations were forwarded to Congress, which could only approve or reject the recommendation as an entire package. Congress could not modify the list of bases to be closed. As a result, there was a sufficient majority to approve the base closures.
7 While this is a lofty number, we believe it is worthwhile to choose an ideal goal and then build toward that number.
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Members would be able to explain to their constituents that it is important to
support affordable housing and additional density and height in their district
because all districts would be making an equal contribution, and neighborhoods
will be rewarded.
4. Developer Incentives for Production of Affordable Housing
?? Proposal: When developing in these Housing Incentive Zones, the developer has
a right to proceed on one of two tracks: 1) develop according to existing laws, or
2) participate in the Fair Share Program and obtain by-right incentives, and be
required to provide a mandated percentage of affordable housing.8 In order not
to unfairly tax the private development industry, developers would only be
required to include affordable housing units if the project receives all of the
following incentives:
?? Density Bonus: Fifty percent.9
?? Minimum Affordable Housing Set Aside/Affordability Level:
A. Rental Units. Projects would set aside a certain percentage of the new rental units to be affordable at the below levels of affordability. The developer would select the amount of set-aside from the below sliding scale that provides for a greater set-aside when targeting higher income households. Rental, with Developer Incentives and Financial Subsidy
(set-aside/affordability level)10
Rental, with Developer Incentives
5% at 50% of AMI11 or 5% at 80% of AMI12 or
10% at 60% of AMI13 10% at 120% of AMI14
B. For-Sale Units. An increased supply of for-sale housing is
important, especially for the numerous workers who serve the
8 The developer must build a prescribed amount of on-site affordable housing, as set forth in a sliding scale that provides for a greater number of units to be set-aside when developers target higher income households.
9 Consistent with existing law, the density bonus is determined by the number of pre-bonus units. That is, if a project is entitled to have 100 units, and it obtains a density bonus so that it can build 50 additional units for a total of 150, the set-aside is determined by multiplying the percentage by 100, or the number of units before the bonus units are added.
10 When choosing to offer this deep level of affordability for rental developments, developers will have byright access to funds from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and/or funds from the proposed Affordable Housing Bond Measure in an amount that will offset the cost of producing the units.
11 $29,750 (All incomes are based on 2004 HUD income limits for a family of 4.)
12 $47,600
13 $35,700
14 $71,400
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City of Los Angeles but are currently priced out of the dream of
home ownership. Issues including, but not limited to, the
economics of home ownership, the sensitivity of interest rates, and
administrative issues with respect to unrealized appreciation make
income controls on for-sale housing complicated. However, the
City should use the following for-sale housing set-asides for
workforce housing, but may also want to consider other creative
options such as equity sharing and price controls.
For-Sale, with Developer Incentives
5% at 80% of AMI or
10% at 120% of AMI or
15% at 150% of AMI15 or
20% at 200% of AMI16
?? Building Height: Must be exceeded as needed to achieve density
bonus units.
?? FAR: Must be exceeded as needed to achieve density bonus
units.17
?? On-site Open Space:
o If project is located near a park, neighborhood school or
other existing open space amenity, then the requirement
for on-site provision of open space could be satisfied by
paying an in-lieu fee to fund enhancements or defray
maintenance and other costs at such existing open space
community facilities.
?? Location of Affordable Units: Units should be dispersed or
clustered throughout the project at the developer's discretion.
E.g., seniors often want to live near each other, and lower floors
should be available for affordable units.
?? Design of Affordable Units: Allow smaller units and more
modest interior finishes than in neighboring market units (follow
TCAC standards).
?? Fees: Defer until Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
?? Parking reductions:
o 1:1 for affordable units.
o Waive guest space requirement on transit corridors.
?? Density Calculation: Eliminate "habitable rooms" from open
space requirement, instead calculating open space "per dwelling unit."
15 $89,250
16 $119,000
17 This is a critical component of the program, and FAR must be increased, by-right, to allow the construction of density bonus units.
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?? Site Plan Review: Threshold should be 150 units.18
?? Facilitated Processing: To developers, time is money, and the
City can directly shave dollars off of the bottom line cost of
housing units, and therefore the price, by simply approving
projects in a timelier manner.
o Expedite construction and permit processing, placing
projects with an affordable housing component ahead of
those without.
o Coordinated approach: Obtain buy-in from all relevant
City departments and establish the creation of housing as a
top priority for the City as a whole.
?? Program EIR: (See also Section IV(2), above.)
o First-tier environmental review of the Fair Share Program
would occur under a PEIR. Subsequent projects within the
scope of the program will be examined in light of that EIR
to determine whether an additional environmental
document is needed.
o Subsequent projects whose effects and mitigation
measures were completely addressed in the Program EIR
require no new environmental document (e.g., EIR or
negative declaration). Such projects are within the scope
of the Program EIR.
5. Improve City-wide Density Bonus
?? Premise: The City of Los Angeles presently provides a density bonus to
developments that include affordable units. For projects near transit corridors
and regional centers, the density bonus is 35% of the units; for all other projects,
the density bonus is 25% of the units. The density bonuses are utilized in some
projects, but the bonuses are subject to existing zoning constraints such as height
limitations, FAR requirements, density restrictions and Specific Plan
requirements. As a result, the density bonuses are under-utilized by residential
developers.
The premise of the Fair Share program is that the existing incentives should be
improved and expanded so that substantially more affordable housing production
is dispersed in market rate projects without mandatory inclusionary zoning.
Although some density bonuses are available under State and City law, they are
not attractive enough to entice developers to utilize them and the existing laws do
not result in nearly enough affordable housing to address the problem.
Furthermore, because most ordinances target low- or very low-incomes, muchneeded
workforce housing is largely ignored and Los Angeles continues to
exacerbate the problem of its dwindling middle class.
18 Site plan review should only be used for limited purposes, as intended, and not treated as a vehicle by which
the City can expand its discretionary review and add burdensome layers of complexity or exact some other
social or economic contribution from developers.
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?? Solution: The City should amend the Zoning Code to provide a specific density
bonus for workforce housing. In this case, because the cost to the public of
providing workforce housing is less than for very low-incomes, the
corresponding set-aside would be greater than when a developer chooses to target
lower-income households.
?? Solution: In the immediate future, while the City further develops its housing
production strategy and conducts the required environmental and other studies, it
must commit to fulfill the letter and intent of recent changes to State law that
purport to give density bonuses by-right. Instead of undermining these important
State-mandated measures, the City must guarantee developers that "by-right"
means "by-right," and that additional housing units will not fall victim to
discretionary actions that make their production impossible.
6. Rewarding Flexibility: Dedicate Revenue Streams to Neighborhoods that Embrace
New Residential Development
?? Premise: Often, neighborhoods object to new housing production, affordable and
market alike, because they feel it results in increased burdens on local
infrastructure. To address this issue, fairness dictates that neighborhoods that are
willing to absorb more density and height should be rewarded financially through
increased funding for local infrastructure.
?? Solution: Funds for community improvements should be tied directly to new
housing production, so that public funds are available to mitigate the impact of
new developments on local infrastructure. The City should adopt a program
whereby the City uses the property tax increment created by new housing
development to create financial incentives for Council Districts and
neighborhoods to entitle new housing, affordable or market rate. The City would
dedicate any incremental increases in property tax from any residential projects
to local neighborhood improvements (street maintenance, community centers,
library facilities, landscaping/beautification, etc.) in order to reduce local
resistance to new housing production.
?? Example: Property A is valued at $2,000,000 and pays $20,000 per year in
property tax, of which $4,000 is received by the City and goes into the City's
General Fund.19 If Property A were redeveloped with 150 units of new housing,
its value would increase to $22,000,000. The property tax bill for Property A
would increase to $220,000 and the City's share of the property tax would
increase to $44,000 per year.
The incremental increase in the City's tax revenue (or $40,000 per year) could be
dedicated to neighborhood improvement projects (e.g., street trees, sidewalk
19 Although the City's share of property tax varies by Tax Rate Area, we use 20% for purposes of illustration.
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repairs, streetlights, park improvements, street improvements) for a specified
period (such as 10 years). The money would go into a Neighborhood Housing
Trust Fund that would be directed by the Council Member for improvements in
that district.
7. Give the City the Right to Set Aside New Rental and For Sale Housing at Fair
Market Value
?? Premise: Housing advocates object that City-subsidized housing developments
that are comprised of 100% affordable units concentrate the low-income families
in existing low-income neighborhoods. According to the housing advocates,
inclusionary housing has the additional social benefit of bringing low income
families to new market rate projects in higher income neighborhoods, thereby
providing access to lower crime rates, better schools, better parks and better
opportunities for advancement.
?? Goal: In addition to creating more units of affordable housing, advocates of
mandatory inclusionary housing have the additional social objective of dispersing
low-income families in new market rate housing projects in neighborhoods all
over the City.
?? Solution: Developers should give the City the right to purchase an "affordability
easement" against residential units in new residential developments and set them
aside for affordable housing, so long as the City pays the developer the fair
market value of the unit. The City would have an option to set aside up to 15% of
the units in each new rental or for-sale housing development for very low-, low-,
or moderate-income families. With this approach, the City would be able to
achieve social integration by moving restricted-income families to any
neighborhood in the City. However, the costs of achieving this social goal would
not be unfairly borne by the developer.
?? Rental Properties: In the case of rental properties, the option would be available
to the City for 30 days after the project is entitled.
?? Upon exercising the option, the City would pay the developer, in cash, the fair
value of the units set aside. The specified units would then be set aside at the
specified levels of rent, and the City would record a standard affordability
easement against the property, restricting the acquired units to low-income
residents.
?? Once the City exercised the option, the program would operate like a
conventional inclusionary ordinance. The apartment owner would select the lowincome
tenants to rent the restricted apartments and would be required to verify
income levels. The restricted apartment would have rent restrictions like the
standard inclusionary program: the apartment owner would be prohibited from
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renting the unit in excess of a set percentage of income, based on a percentage of
Los Angeles County area median income.
?? The fair market value of the units acquired by the City would be determined by
capitalizing, at a market cap rate, the difference between fair market rent and the
restricted rent. For example, if the fair market rental for the units is $1,500 per
month and the maximum rent for a very low income resident is $800 per month,
the annual cost of the subsidy to the developer would be $8,400 per year. If the
market cap rate were 9%, the City's cost to acquire the set aside for the unit
would be $93,333.
?? For-Sale Properties: The same concept would apply: the City would pay the
developer of for-sale units for the right to cause the new home or condominium
to be sold as a price-controlled unit.
?? The City would have the right to purchase the affordability easement against the
units for 30 days after the project is entitled.
?? The amount paid by the City would be the difference between the fair market
value of the unit and the amount paid by the low-income or restricted-income
buyer. For example, if the fair market value of the new condominium unit were
$380,00020 and the controlled price for a low-income family was $240,000 for a
moderate-income family, the City's option price would be $140,000.
?? Result: This purchase program allows the City to achieve the public policy goal
of integrating low-income families in market rate developments, developers do
not bear the cost of providing affordable units, and City housing funds go further
by taking advantage of private sector economics and efficiencies. The City would
also have more flexibility in determining whether to devote funds to very low-,
low-, or moderate-income families.
20 As determined by actual sales prices for comparable units.
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V. INCREASE FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
The business community is committed to joining forces with the City, as well as non-profit
and affordable housing advocates, to build a Coalition that will maximize the funds
available to develop affordable housing. Los Angeles currently does not optimize the
amount of funds coming to the City through federal programs, State bond and tax credit
allocations, State bond funds, and other private and non-governmental sources (e.g., Fannie
Mae, Century Housing, and private foundations). This Coalition should work together to
identify and earn every source of funding available for housing and ensure that Los Angeles
leverages its public and private lobbying clout in Washington, Sacramento, and other
sources to bring every possible funding dollar home to Los Angeles.
1. $500 Million Bond
Most for-profit developers have a capital structure that is not always well-suited to
take advantage of tax credits and bonds aimed at very low income populations.
Currently, these segments are primarily housed by non-profit developers of 100%
affordable projects, who are better positioned to compete for scarce government
funding. Supporters of this proposal are committed to supporting a bond measure,
the funds from which would be directed toward low, very low, and homeless
housing, possibly managed through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
This bond money, which would have to be approved by the citizens of Los Angeles,
would be used to promote the goals of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and
subsidize housing for low- and very low-income households. In the real estate
development industry, where financing can be hard to obtain and market demand can
change with a wide variety of factors, it is virtually impossible to develop housing at
a deep discount for very low-income residents without getting public subsidy.
2. Prop 46 State Bond Funds
The Coalition would work with non-profit housing groups to see that the maximum
amount of Prop. 46 housing bond funds flowed toward Los Angeles, especially to
fund multi-family urban infill.
3. Property Tax Increment Financing (PTIF)
See section IV(6), above, regarding the use of property tax increment from new
housing development to support affordable housing and mitigate neighborhood
impacts.
4. Housing Trust Fund
The Coalition must continue to fight to maximize the amount of affordable housing
funds flowing to the AHTF.
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VI. ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT REFORMS
In order to create a truly comprehensive housing-for-all policy that focuses on the need for
increased housing production, the City of Los Angeles also needs to quickly enact additional
development reforms. These reforms are ideas that have been presented to the City over the
past three years and, yet, have never been acted upon. It is critical that the City take a true
leadership role in pushing reforms that will increase the housing supply. All of the
following reforms are critical components of our plan.
While some of these reforms may take significant time, effort and resources to enact, they
should be closely monitored by the City Council to ensure they become a reality. Solving
the City's housing crisis will require a comprehensive strategy. These reforms must not be
ignored any longer.
1. Make M.O.R.E. (Maximizing Our Real Estate) Lands Available for Residential
Development
?? "M.O.R.E.": Currently, the Mayor is compiling an inventory of vacant and/or
underutilized City-owned properties. These can be used and traded to promote
better neighborhoods by converting them to parks, housing, community centers,
etc.
?? The City should immediately identify the properties appropriate for housing
development, make the properties available for housing development, and then
transfer these properties to residential developers at little or no cost, in exchange
for production of a percentage of affordable units. If they are sold at a discount,
the developer should be required to provide affordable housing units in
proportion to the value of the discount. This would not cost the City any money
out-of-pocket, but would promote the production of both market rate and
affordable housing.
2. Reassess "One-size Fits All" Approach
?? City needs to reassess its one-size fits all approach to housing, such as adopting
minimum lot areas of 5,000 square feet for single-family homes, attached
housing, and "detached condos" (i.e., bungalows that share common/reciprocal
open space). The City should provide both building envelope flexibility and lot
size reduction.
3. Create a Fire Zone 1A
?? Current law designates outdated fire zones for some urban areas of the City.
Specifically, only Type III (4-hour fire resistant construction) is allowed in Fire
Zone 1, (but not Type V or 2-hour fire resistant construction), which, due to cost,
HOUSING FOR ALL: FAIR SHARE PROGRAM | p16
limits the viability of this zone for low-rise residential projects. We recommend
that the designation of Fire Zone 1 be amended to include a new Fire Zone 1A
overlay that in certain locations shall allow the construction of Type V buildings.
4. Review, Update, and Improve Transportation Plans
?? The City should take this opportunity to revise and update its transportation plans
for all parts of the City, and especially in the areas around residential
neighborhoods. Specifically, we also recommend that the Los Angeles
Department of Transportation (LADOT) formally recognize the use of
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs for multi-family housing
projects, which are located within a transit corridor, within proximity to a transit
center/station, within a transportation or traffic Specific Plan area, within
proximity to established bikeways or high-density urban neighborhoods.
5. Defer Regulatory Costs of Development
?? Encourage all remaining regulatory costs to be imposed at Certificate of
Occupancy, rather than Building Permit stage.
6. Revise SB 975
?? SB 975, a state prevailing wage law, acts as a disincentive for developers to take
advantage of public assistance for development projects, thus reducing housing
production, particularly for low- and moderate-income projects. We recommend
that the state enact legislation that would remove prevailing wage requirements
from all private and public housing projects.
7. Incentivize Mixed Use
?? Parking and tax incentive should be provided to commercial developers who add
residential units on top of commercial uses, or to business owners who choose to
locate in residential projects.
8. Meet the Rules, Get Your Permit!
?? Residential developers should be assisted by the City of Los Angeles in both
purchase and negotiation with surrounding neighborhoods, rather than allowing
projects to be negotiated only by the developers themselves. Since we are
experiencing an affordable housing crisis, reductions or vetoes of projects should
be rare.
9. Encourage Public and Private Housing Rehabilitation
?? Fix what is clearly broken with Los Angeles' housing stock, to put thousands of
units in areas already zoned for higher density housing back to use, while
HOUSING FOR ALL: FAIR SHARE PROGRAM | p17
simultaneously improving housing conditions and eliminating blight. Develop
legal and legislative solutions to encourage public and private rehabilitation of
the following housing types, including allowing market-rate units to be added to
projects to subsidize continued affordability of the remaining units:
o Red-tagged units remaining from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake
o City-determined substandard units
o Uninhabited units (The Gas Co. has determined there are 50,000 in
LA)
HOUSING FOR ALL: FAIR SHARE PROGRAM | p18
VII. ACTION ITEMS FOR THE NEXT 90 DAYS
?? City Council adopts the Fair Share Program and 10 Point Plan, in concept.
?? City Council and Departments pledge their commitment to entitling residential
developments at the maximum allowable density, if requested, under existing laws.
?? City Council establishes city-wide housing production goal, e.g., 100,000 units over the
next 5 years.
?? City gives priority to residential development over commercial, industrial, etc.
?? City Council gives the Planning Department a deadline to submit a list/map of potential
Housing Incentive Zones, indicating the location of transportation corridors, RAS zones,
etc.
?? The City must acknowledge the urgent nature of the crisis, and commit now to enforcing
existing State and City density bonus and other laws that attempt to promote the
production of affordable housing, yet go largely under-utilized because they are treated
as discretionary incentives. Both the letter and spirit of the law dictates that these
incentives should be granted by-right.
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