is a senior editor who oversees coverage of politics, health, housing and homelessness.
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a plan that would allow mid-sized apartment buildings of up to four stories near train lines in certain areas zoned for single-family homes. The move is a delay tactic meant to help the city put off full implementation of a state law that would allow much larger apartment buildings — some of them up to nine stories tall.
The law, known as Senate Bill 79, is expected to take effect July 1. Since before it was signed into law last year, SB 79 has drawn opposition from several members of the council, as well as L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, in keeping with a long-standing preference among many city leaders to leave untouched the three-quarters of L.A.’s residential land zoned for single-family homes. On Tuesday, the council voted 13 to 0 to move forward with a plan that would encourage development of four- to 16-unit residential buildings in 55 areas of the city within a half-mile of transit stops.Sign up for Building Your Block, a seven-issue newsletter course from LAist that explains the obstacles around housing development in L.A. and what you can do to make things better.The most affected areas include Central L.A., West L.A., the Eastside and parts of the San Fernando Valley, according to city officials.LA’s main homelessness agency is at risk of blowing federal audit deadline, auditor warns L.A. Homeless Services Authority executives were far behind in turning in required documents for a crucial oversight check, per the lead auditor.Dennis Block submitted a filing in eviction court that a judge called “fabricated.” He’s now facing potential discipline from the California State Bar. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, chair of the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee, described SB 79 as a “sledgehammer,” even though he said its goals — providing more housing options and reducing residents’ reliance on cars — were legitimate.He said the option approved Tuesday is an alternative that focuses on local needs. “Really, we want to see those alternatives, those thoughtful alternatives put in place as soon as we can,” he added. “Because ultimately that’s the way that we can meet the goals of SB 79 but do so in a less sledgehammer-y, less ham-handed way.”allows cities to delay the law’s broadest effects until 2030, as long as those cities agree to allow more housing development in certain neighborhoods in the interim. Last month, the city’s Planning Department produced a report containing three options for consideration. Blumenfield and Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky came up with a version of one of those options, which the council approved. Yaroslavsky said SB 79 has flaws that have yet to be worked out, but the option considered Tuesday would allow construction of low-density apartments in single-family neighborhoods “for the first time in decades and some for the very first time ever.”“We need more housing,” Yaroslavsky said. “What we decide today will shape what actually gets built across the city if we do it right.”Yaroslavsky said the plan the City Council adopted Tuesday expands the Corridor Transition Program — a provision of the Citywide Housing Incentive Program — launched a little more than a year ago. Although the program provides incentives for developers to build small, multi-family housing along transit corridors, no applications were submitted within its first year. “Not because there’s no demand for this type of housing, but because the math doesn’t work,” Yaroslavsky said. The new plan fixes some of the program’s problems, but not all of them, she said. For example, the Corridor Transition Program could be changed to increase allowable floor areas and update rules for three- and four-bedroom apartments, which are hard to find in L.A.“If we expand this program today without fixing it, we’ll get additional zoning on paper and not necessarily housing in reality,” Yaroslavsky said. She introduced a motion that she said focuses on making sure the homes “actually get built.” The motion was sent to the city’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee. You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead . Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community. Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.Climate & Environment
Katy Yaroslavsky L.A. City Council Senate Bill 79 Apartments Housing In Los Angeles
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