Skip to main content
Donate

Affordable Housing Policy & Program

By Jillian Olivas
June 6, 2013
Support Provided By
Affordable Housing.jpg

The issue of affordable housing is not contained within the boundaries of NELA. In response to this city-wide challenge, there are currently efforts led by City Council to permanently fund the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. It is especially important to identify alternative sources of funding to support the development of housing reflecting the income levels of existing stakeholders, under 70% of Area Median Income (AMI). Unlike the boundaries of the CASP, the NELA Study Area has much less vacant or underutilized land. For these sites and for projects that exceed a certain threshold - to be determined by further analysis - we recommend the City create a housing policy that ensures a sensible percentage (20-30%) of new residential units be set aside to serve families making less than a certain AMI.

There are many tools that can be explored for encouraging affordable housing, including municipal housing bonds, density bonuses, and other regulatory mechanisms. However, these tools often focus on new and sizeable developments projects. Much of the Study Area is characterized by single-family homes and multi-family apartment complexes, which are often the most vulnerable to turnover. Thus, we recommend the City also fund the exploration of a program that preserve affordability of single family and multi-family units, especially as they go on the market.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Inside Climate News
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
By Marisa Kendall, CalMatters