Continuing its exposé of California redevelopment agencies, The L.A. Times uncovers that $700 million meant for affordable housing across the state was spent without a single unit being built.
Some cities gave monies to local developers to keep some of their units in the affordable range, while others bought land that was unsuitable for housing.
Worse yet, up to three dozen California cities spent the money on planning and development staff while not actually accomplishing anything for over a decade. Pismo Beach is one such city.
From the Los Angeles Times:"Asked to account for the $361,000 spent by Pismo Beach, Administrative Services Director George Edes said some of it paid the salaries of staffers who were "thinking about concepts of how do we get something going but we never did get to the point of taking those to the council with a concept that was developed.""
FULL STORY: Cities often give short shrift to affordable housing
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie