The Planning Commission Thursday OK’d a proposal to expedite approval and construction of affordable housing projects in the city.
The commission voted 5-1 in favor of the proposed Affordable Housing Streamlining Ordinance, which seeks to codify Mayor Karen Bass’ executive directive to fast-track qualifying projects.
Commissioner Helen Leung voted against the proposal, while Commissioners Samantha Millman, Karen Mack and Elizabeth Zamora were absent during the vote.
“We’ve had almost a year since ED 1 went into effect, and we’ve had a fair amount of success … and bruises along the way, which has gotten us to where we are today,” Monique Lawshe, vice president of the commission, said prior to the vote. “I’d love to see this body move forward (on this) so that we can continue with it.”
Lawshe said it would send a message to the development community that L.A. is “development friendly,” because in the three decades that she’s lived in the city, that has not always been the case.
Leung, the sole “no vote,” said she did not feel comfortable moving forward on the ordinance after hearing comments from South L.A. tenants who feared the plan did not outline stronger protections for tenants.
“So, to move this forward now means we are saying that we’re going to have more of these instances we’re expediting projects, but it should not be at the expense of vulnerable tenants,” Leung said.
City planners noted that stronger tenant protections would be coming online through different avenues such as the pending Housing Element Rezoning Program.
Leung hoped city planners could add into the ordinance a “one-for-one replacement” policy for units subject to the city’s rent control law and a “right-of-return” requirement for existing tenants that may need to be relocated for future developments.
The commissioners heard more than an hour of public comment regarding the proposed ordinance. Many housing advocates expressed their support for the plan and some chimed in via Zoom eager to see the ordinance move along in the process.
But, again, some South L.A. tenants urged the commission to secure greater protections for them, citing the possibility of evictions due to the high cost of rent and future developments.
Glafira Lopez, a community organizer with Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, said rent-controlled buildings in South L.A. are being used to create the affordable housing projects.
“Residents that have been here for more than 20 years are being displaced by this,” Lopez said. “We need to make sure that there are stronger right of return protections that are actually being enforced.”
She also recommended the ordinance include single-family zoned areas. According to Lopez, excluding single-family zoned areas from developing affordable housing in the ordinance further impacts low-income communities and forces them to bear the brunt of the housing crisis.
With the commissioners’ approval, the ordinance will be considered by the L.A. City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee at a later date.
The ordinance would define 100% affordable housing projects, establish criteria to qualify for streamlining benefits, help identify other incentive programs for which projects may qualify, outline limitations on waivers and incentives, and set performance standards.
It was prepared in response to a motion the City Council adopted on June 27 that directed the city’s planning department to prepare and present an ordinance that would codify the main provisions of the mayor’s directive.
Bass implemented her first directive on Dec. 15, 2022, to expedite the processing of 100% affordable housing and shelter projects in an effort to address the housing and homelessness crisis.
The directive exempts those two types of projects from what is known as discretionary review — a process that requires a public hearing and approval from the planning commission — as long as the projects comply with certain standards.
Projects that require consideration of a Coastal Development Permit or are subject to the Subdivision Map Act are ineligible for streamlining under the directive, according to city planners. Streamlining provisions are also not applicable for projects in single-family or more restrictive zones.
Under the directive, affordable housing projects are reviewed through an approval process that provides various streamlining provisions at all stages of project review, such as exemptions from local planning procedures like public hearings, appeals or the California Environmental Quality Act.
Additionally, the directive mandates the expedited processing of city approvals for shelters and 100% affordable housing projects meet a 60-day deadline.
Officials said that, as of Oct. 30, more than 50 projects have been approved under the directive and an additional 55 applications remain pending. As a whole, those projects could result in 12,283 new affordable homes.