LA Falling Behind on Housing Goals

Los Angeles is falling short of its state-mandated housing goals, reports David Wagner for LAist. “Under state law, L.A. is required to plan for more than 456,000 new homes between 2021 and 2029.”

Last year, the city only permitted 17,200 units, or 30 percent of what it should be producing every year. Of those, around 3,000 were deemed affordable for low-income residents.

“Part of the downward trend has to do with high interest rates, rising material and labor costs and other economic factors that are largely out of the city’s control. But housing advocates attribute much of the development slowdown to local policy decisions.” Some housing advocates blame the city’s “mansion tax,” a tax on property sales over $5 million that is meant to apply to large homes but also levies the fee on multifamily developments.

Some recent changes to city policy could speed up development, including a proposed “self-certification” program for builders that could cut down permitting times for smaller projects and the potential legalization of single-stairway buildings, which would free up more square footage for housing units and allow for more diverse building designs. A California state bill, Senate Bill 79, would support transit-oriented development and allow multifamily housing in more areas.