UN4LA News - July 2021
A monthly newsletter published by United Neighborhoods for Los Angeles.
UN4LA's mission is to bring communities together to plan for a sustainable future. Growth must be shaped by community engagement, not developer dollars.
DEEPLY FLAWED ORDINANCE GOVERNING PROJECT APPROVALS MOVES FORWARD
The City of LA is in the process of re-writing its Zoning Code, but it has decided to place one chapter on a fast track for approval. The Processes & Procedures Ordinance, Chapter 13 of the New Zoning Code, will govern the way project approvals are handled. On June 22 the City Council sent the proposed Ordinance to the City Attorney so that it can be finalized before they vote to add it to the LA Municipal Code.
While the Department of City Planning claims this is merely a reorganization of the existing procedures, a number of community members who have reviewed the document have expressed serious concerns about what the Ordinance will actually do. Among these concerns are....
The Ordinance will sideline neighborhood councils, diminishing the role they play in community outreach and public engagement.
The Ordinance moves Planning authority away from elected officials, accountable to the public, to unelected bureaucrats.
The City is moving forward with a re-write of the Zoning Code when it has failed to update elements of the General Plan for decades.
Neighborhood council board members also say that public outreach has been very limited, and that no meaningful effort has been made to present the Ordinance to NCs for scrutiny. Click on the link below to read a selection of comments on the Ordinance submitted by the public.
Public Comments on Processes & Procedures Ordinance
L.A. CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO PLACE NEW RESTRICTIONS ON HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS
After a heated hearing, in which members of the public on both sides of the issue expressed deep frustration with elected officials, the LA City Council voted on July 1 to add new restrictions on where homeless persons can pitch their tents. On one side there were commenters who pleaded with the Council to enact the restrictions, complaining that homeless encampments had grown so large and numerous that they were a threat to public health and safety. On the other side there were those who argued that tightening restrictions without providing housing options was pointless, and that the law would criminalize people living on the streets. After lengthy debate, the Council voted 13 to 2 to enact the new restrictions, with Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Mike Bonin voting to oppose.
LA Backs New Camping Restrictions amid Warnings that Homelessness Will Be Criminalized
SB 9 AND SB 10 ADVANCE IN STATE ASSEMBLY
On June 22, the Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee voted to approve both SB 9 and SB 10. The bills have already been passed by the State Senate, but they face fierce opposition from Californians who object to the State’s intervention in local land use decisions.
SB 9 would upzone parcels zoned for single-family housing, allowing two units to be built on single-family lots, and also permitting lot splits. Proponents claim this would allow only four units to be built, while opponents argue that the law would actually allow up to eight units. The bill is opposed by more than 150 California cities. The League of California Cities has this to say about the SB 9:
“SB 9 (Atkins), as presently drafted, would require cities to ministerially approve, without condition, discretion, or public input, a housing development containing two residential units on an individual parcel in single-family neighborhoods. Additionally, the measure would require local governments to ministerially approve an urban lot split, thus creating two independent lots that may be sold separately. [….] During a passionate testimony, [Blanca Pacheco, Mayor of Downey] stated, ‘Cal Cities and the city of Downey have persistently pursued solutions to the housing supply and affordability crisis that is gripping many regions of the state. Unfortunately, SB 9 will not spur the much-needed housing construction we need and certainly not in a manner that supports local flexibility, decision-making, and community input.’”
SB 9 Advances out of Committee Despite Still Opposition
SB 10 authorizes a city or county to pass an ordinance, regardless of local zoning restrictions, to zone any parcel for up to 10 units of residential density, at a height specified by the ordinance, if the parcel is located in an area where jobs and transit are concentrated, or the parcel is designated as an urban infill site. It also stipulates that projects that qualify for approval under such an ordinance do not need to be reviewed under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Supporters believe this will lead to greater housing supply and more affordability. Opponents say the law will restrict public participation in the project approval process and allow developers to skirt necessary environmental review.
STATE SENATORS REQUEST AUDIT OF REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Cities across California were surprised when the latest Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) numbers were released. RHNA allocations, which determine how much housing each jurisdiction needs to build, had risen significantly, causing many cities to wonder if they could realistically build the number of units required. The numbers had jumped so high, in fact, that many local officials began to question how they had been calculated.
As an example, the RHNA allocation for Pasadena would require the city to build 9,408 units of new housing by 2029, including 4,399 units for Low Income and Very Low Income households. City officials complain that these goals are unrealistic. Pasadena Now quotes Mayor Victor Gordo as saying, “A review of the RHNA allocations set forth by HCD is desperately needed in order to ensure cities like ours, that are doing their part to address housing needs, are not treated unfairly. Moreover, because the current RHNA allocations are unrealistic, achieving them will be impossible.”
The frustration felt by local officials has sparked some action at the State level. In May, six members of the California Legislature, Sen. Steve Glazer, Sen. Josh Newman, Asm. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Sen. Anthony Portantino, Asm. Al Muratsuchi, and Sen. Henry Stern, wrote a letter to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee asking for an audit of the process used to calculate RHNA allocations. In their letter, the representatives assert that the RHNA process is opaque: "[O]ur state is facing an unprecedented housing crisis. However, there is almost no transparency when it comes to determining each region’s housing needs." They go on to say, "[T]he public has almost no information on the formula that HCD uses to calculate these initial numbers. The result is confusion and mistrust amongst the regional planning bodies and the cities, which are responsible for the final allocation of the housing numbers."
You can view the letter requesting the audit below, as well as a story from Pasadena Now, which explains the city's frustration with the RHNA process.
Request for Audit of CA Dept. of Housing & Community Development
Portantino Requests State Audit on Formula Used For Regional Housing Need Allocation
AS WATER RESOURCES DECLINE, SACRAMENTO PUSHES FOR MORE NEW CONSTRUCTION
As of June 24, the US Drought Monitor showed that the entire State of California was experiencing conditions ranging from moderate to exceptional drought. Hopefully this unusually dry year will prove to be an outlier, but even if the coming years provide more precipitation, the long-term outlook is not good. Scientists project that California's snowpack will continue to decline through this century, and since the Colorado River is already over-allocated, it's likely that deliveries from that important resource will be steadily reduced.
Meanwhile, legislators in Sacramento are working hard to increase housing production, even to the point of overriding local zoning authority. How does this aggressive push for more housing fit in with the State's increasingly dire hydrology? This 2015 post by David Coffin on his blog DroughtMath lays out some of the problems posed by California’s approach to development, and asks if we really can keep on building when our water resources keep on shrinking.
California’s Challenge to Reliable Water isn’t Infrastructure. It’s RHNA
ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION IN HUNTINGTON PARK
Questionable contracts. The arrest of a city budget analyst. Calls from two State lawmakers for an audit. Residents of Huntington Park are becoming increasingly concerned about the actions of their elected officials. A recent audit of the city’s finances showed numerous irregularities, and there are also allegations of improprieties in handing out cannabis permits. Huntington Park officials deny any wrongdoing. This story from the LA Times offers more details.
In Huntington Park, City Hall Arrest and Suspicion over Pot Licenses Fuel a Firestorm
