Debating Los Angeles' Proposed Affordable Housing Development Fee

"Mayor [Eric] Garcetti's plan to raise millions of dollars for affordable housing in Los Angeles by charging a new fee on real estate development looks like a foregone conclusion," reports Josie Huang.

Huang's source for that prognostication is Randy Johnson, president of the Los Angeles/Ventura chapter of the Building Industry Association. According to Johnson, the proposed fee has no opponents on the City Council. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti supports the idea enough to mention it in his State of City address last week.

Developers, however, are less supportive of the idea. City Controller Ron Galperin has also voiced skepticism about the idea. Galperin said "imposing another fee on builders — $12 dollars per square foot on residential buildings, $5 dollars for commercial – isn’t going to help fix the city’s housing shortage," according to Huang.

Huang also quotes Ben Winter, the mayor’s housing policy specialist, who says planners are working to address these concerns as the proposal went through the Planning Commission. The city's Planning and Land Use Management committee will have to approve the fee before it heads to the full council for final approval.