Hermosa Beach has become the latest city to approve joining the South Bay Regional Housing Trust, which is planned help fund the development and construction of affordable housing in cities that are members of the trust, officials announced Wednesday.
Hermosa Beach gave its approval at the city’s council meeting Tuesday night.
The South Bay Cities Council of Governments has now received council approval from 10 cities — El Segundo, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach and Torrance — to form a joint powers authority to create the regional housing trust.
The first trust meeting is scheduled to take place April 23 at the SBCCOG’s offices in Torrance.
“By joining the South Bay Regional Housing Trust, our cities, including my city of Lawndale, can benefit from a coordinated, regional approach to housing production and homeless services, while explicitly maintaining full control over local land-use decisions,” Bernadette Suarez, Lawndale council member and SBCCOG board chair, said in a statement.
“The need for a SBRHT rose as a proposed tool to help South Bay cities meet requirements of the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation which mandates that every local jurisdiction ensure there are enough sites appropriately zoned for affordable housing construction to accommodate projected growth as calculated by the state every eight years,” the statement continued. “A regional housing trust has already been successfully implemented by other local subregions, such as San Gabriel Valley.”
Over the past year, the SBCCOG’s consultant, CivicHome, has been developing a strategic plan, staffing plan, budget and programs for the SBRHT board to consider adopting if formed.