The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously agreed to formalize the key provisions of Mayor Karen Bass’ executive directive aimed at simplifying the process of developing affordable and supportive housing projects.
With a vote of 12-0, the council gave its approval to the motion, with members Curren Price and Monica Rodriguez absent from the meeting.
The motion, introduced by Council members Katy Yaroslavsky, Nithya Raman, and Council President Paul Krekorian, establishes a permanent exemption for 100% affordable housing proposals from the city’s time-consuming discretionary review process. Since the mayor signed the directive, the approval time for these projects has been reduced from an average of six months to just 37 days, according to officials.
The council members brought forward the motion to ensure that the provisions of the directive remained in effect, as they would have expired without council action.
Yaroslavsky emphasized the importance of supporting her motion, noting that the city has only approved less than 3% of the over 184,000 very low and low-income units it committed to building by 2029. She expressed that by enshrining key provisions into the city’s legislation, the approval of affordable housing developments could be six times faster.
The councilwoman referred to the mayor’s executive directive as a “game changer” for the city, highlighting that the Planning Department approved 20 different 100% affordable and supportive housing projects in just 37 days, compared to the usual wait time of six months or more.
Furthermore, there are 28 additional projects in progress, which will result in 2,600 new affordable housing units, according to officials.
Yaroslavsky stated, “With this vote, we’re taking a critical step forward in making L.A. more affordable and a livable city.”
In a previous statement before the vote, Yaroslavsky recognized that the city’s housing affordability crisis is partly a result of its own actions. She added, “ED1 (Executive Directive 1) changed that by dramatically reducing the time it takes to begin construction and complete new affordable housing projects. We cannot revert back to how it was before — we need to take swift action and legally establish ED1.”
The motion had already received approval from the Housing and Homeless Committee last week.
Yaroslavsky and Raman also introduced another motion, granting the Los Angeles Housing Department the authority to approve funding for affordable housing projects seeking less than $25 million in city contributions, as long as they meet specific criteria.
This motion aims to further reduce delays in the development of affordable housing projects. Yaroslavsky’s office states that the two motions together constitute one of the most comprehensive affordable housing streamlining packages in recent history.
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