Los Angeles County is experiencing a severe housing shortage characterized by slow apartment construction and a cultural clash between the need for density and the desire to preserve single-family neighborhood charm.
The strawberry sundaes had been cleared from the table but the wine was still flowing when a small dinner party I recently attended turned to the topic of housing in L.A.
A housing advocate among the guests noted that the leafy community of generous century-old homes and good schools was well behind in building more, dense developments to address the housing crisis. A couple of guests who lived there shot back that they had worked hard to retain the historic charms and Nancy Myers-inspired look, and that hulking apartment buildings on the corner would ruin all that.
In my life, social events typically begin with a chorus of outrage about Trump 2.0 but turn to divisions when it comes to the question of housing, reflecting the way the issues of growth and density have divided blue California. A recent USC study found Los Angeles County is building new apartments at the slowest rate in decades. The data found the county built less than 110,000 units between 2021 and 2025.
Moreover, it takes an average of three years to complete multi-family units, triple the national average. This all places L.A. way behind other cities in creating new housing to keep up with needs. There are many reasons for this shortage. Regulation overload highlighted in the 'Abundance agenda.
' The grassroots politics of “no” discussed in the book “Golden Gates. ” Struggles to finance new construction. Yet the skepticism of single-family home dwellers to living near multi-family housing looms large. This is a story that goes back a century, when low-density residential communities became the ideal in Los Angeles.
Postwar suburbanization cemented the aesthetic that residents seem willing to defend at all cost. I moved into one of those midcentury boxes more than two decades ago. I followed the old adage to get the “worst” house in the “best” neighborhood, and that meant living in the shadow of a three-story apartment at the edge of my subdivision. It did not seem such a big deal at first.
But over time, the apartment felt like the one blemish on my new Sunset magazine-inspired life. Friends came over and could not help but notice how the glare of the apartment’s security lights hit the front of my house. The apartment also seemed to live in a separate ecosystem from the rest of my block, with the home dwellers and apartment dwellers rarely interacting.
I found myself taking walks up my block past the well-landscaped frontyards with Teslas in the driveways instead of down and past the faded stucco of the apartment complex. During the pandemic, my mother was living with me. She was suffering the early stages of dementia and one of her few pleasures was regular walks up and down the street. She found a support system in the apartment I avoided.
A teenage girl regularly walked with her. She got to know several of the tenants, who often came out to say hi as she crept down the street in her walker. When she was sick, they’d leave treats on our front porch. When her dementia worsened, some became her guardian angels, helping her find her way home when she got lost and confused, texting me when she forgot to close the garage door.
I once asked one of her apartment friends why they were so kind to my mother, and she said with a smile, “Your mom is a great lady and a great neighbor. ” The day after she died, I arrived home to find flowers, candles and balloons at the front door. All from the gang in the apartment. The choice we face today is harder.
I don't know how me and my homeowning neighbors would feel if the city proposed building the apartment on my block today. We’d likely worry about our property values, traffic and the “quality of life. ” But one old lady at the end of her life might urge us not to assume the worst. Housing affordability was not a major topic during the heated L.A. mayoral debate.
But there was discussion of homeless policy and whether Mayor Karen Bass' efforts are enough. Councilmember Nithya Raman said she felt attacked by both Bass and Spencer Pratt and thinks she knows why. Columnist Gustavo Arellano says there were two winners and one loser in the debate. Democratic frontrunners Xavier Becerra and billionaire Tom Steyer faced fierce attacks Wednesday during a contentious gubernatorial debate in Los Angeles.
Republicans and Democrats were starkly divided over the state’s sanctuary laws, with GOP candidates arguing the policy endangers public safety while Democrats defended protections for undocumented immigrants. UCLA’s medical school unlawfully used race in admissions decisions over the last three years, specifically discriminating against white and Asian American applicants, according to Department of Justice findings. The practice violates a 2023 Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious admissions at colleges, the Justice Department said.
Disney lovers will have a chance to preorder specialized license plates in the coming months. The sales of Disney-themed license plates will support uncompensated healthcare services and programs for children’s hospitals across California. A California county discovered a trove of unopened ballots from last election in a locked box. Eighteen people reveal how much they paid for LA28 Olympics tickets.
California is under pressure — again — as partisan redistricting wars escalate. Temperatures are expected to ramp up across Southern California this weekend, peaking on Mother's Day. RFK Jr. clears the path for minors’ use of tanning beds, much to the dismay of dermatologists. Commentary and opinions Abortion access just took another blow.
California wasn’t spared, columnist Anita Chabria writes. Feel a bit crowded at the park? Columnist Patt Morrison explores why L.A. park spaces come up short. Why do gas prices rise so sharply and fall so slowly?
Blame gas stations — and yourself, writes columnist Michael Hiltzik. In 'Remarkably Bright Creatures,' Sally Field’s co-star is an octopus. She thinks you’ll like it too. Dining: Here are 20 AAPI-owned restaurants to support from the 101 Best Restaurants list.
Theaters: AMC is bringing a new live concert experience to local movie theaters. Music: Here are all 55 of Neil Diamond’s Hot 100 hits, ranked from worst to best. Recipe: Here's a recipe for homemade butter. ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. The front page of the May 7, 1970, edition of the Los Angeles Times highlights antiwar demonstrations in L.A. including protesters who blocked traffic on the San Bernardino Freeway near Cal State Los Angeles. Following the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the Kent State University shootings, massive student strikes took place at L.A. -area colleges along with street protests.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team Jim Rainey, staff reporter Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer Karim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
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