LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The Los Angeles Department of City Planning and the Housing and Community Investment Department Thursday released a plan to accommodate the production of nearly 500,000 housing units, with more than 200,000 units reserved for lower-income residents.
If adopted by the City Council, the Housing Element would guide Los Angeles' housing policy from 2021 to 2029. The most recent Housing Element was adopted in 2013 and remains in effect through the end of the year.
According to the Department of City Planning, the next Housing Element needs to allow the city to increase its current level of housing production by a factor of five and add about 57,000 new units of housing each year for the next eight years in order to address the housing shortage, City Planning reported.
The plan includes a rezoning program that would increase density in resource-rich neighborhoods that have been limited to single-family-only uses to create the capacity for 219,732 new housing units within three years of the plan being adopted.
"To increase housing access citywide, HCIDLA looks to leverage available financing, whether through Proposition HHH, Linkage Fee or state grants to produce more affordable housing in higher opportunity areas," said Ann Sewill, Housing and Community Investment Department general manager. "All while protecting tenants, so we have a more equitable distribution of affordable housing located across our city."
City Planning will identify and recommend rezoning for a minimum of 97,851 moderate- and above-moderate-income units and a minimum of 121,1881 lower-income units by Oct. 30, 2024, according to the draft plan. That program will be implemented through updates to 16 community plans, including in Boyle Heights, Hollywood, Harbor-Gateway, Wilmington, four in West LA, six in the southeast and southwest San Fernando Valley and two in downtown Los Angeles.
"This plan, our Plan to House L.A., was designed with our residents in mind, especially those who have been disenfranchised, excluded and left without housing because of wide wealth gaps and a lack of affordable units," said Director of Planning Vince Bertoni.
"We took it upon ourselves as a city to develop a series of strategies that would position us to be successful in confronting our housing challenges head-on."
The plan will be sent to the City Planning Commission for final recommendations before being sent to City Council for adoption in the fall. It aims to set strategies that will equitably distribute market-rate and affordable housing and provide access to housing for residents with disabilities, large families and older adults, according to City Planning.
"By carefully balancing production, affordable housing preservation and protection, we intend to create new access to housing, make significant inroads to end chronic homelessness and keep Angelenos housed without fears of displacement," Bertoni said.
People can read the 2021-2029 Housing Element draft at https://bit.ly/3xdRQZf. People can provide public comment on the plan by emailing HousingElement@lacity.org.