The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved funding for 12 new affordable housing developments that will bring 888 units to special needs and low-income residents countywide.
Since 1998, the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) has been responsible for issuing a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the development of affordable housing, providing funding for over 12,000 units which in turn have leveraged the development of over 21,000 affordable units. Resulting from the proactive efforts of the Board and their establishment of Affordable Housing Program funding in 2013, the LACDA has received funding for the NOFA totaling $387 million, to date.
Most recently, as a result of the issuance of NOFA Round 27 in December 2021, the LACDA offered a total of $66.8 million in capital funding, comprised of $59.8 million in County funding and $7 million in Federal HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) Funds; and 300 Section 8 Project-Based Vouchers (PBV) for rental assistance. A total of 37 applications were received, 14 of which were selected for funding awards. The remaining two developments are scheduled for approval from the Board at a later date.
Funding will provide for the construction of affordable housing developments across the County and will provide shelter for special needs populations including the homeless, chronically homeless, transition age youth, and low-income households. The LACDA is partnering with 11 developers to bring housing to communities including Gateway Cities (Downey, Huntington Park, and Santa Fe Springs), the San Gabriel Valley (Alhambra, El Monte and Claremont), the City of Los Angeles, and West Hollywood, and the unincorporated communities of Altadena, East Rancho Dominguez, and Florence-Firestone.
The use of Federally issued PBVs supports the NOFAs, which are a component of a public housing agency’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program. PBVs provides public housing agencies with a flexible tool to increase housing opportunities for low-income families and may provide agencies with improved voucher utilization in tight markets.
“The most effective tool to help end the homelessness crisis is more permanent housing. I look forward to the affordable and inclusive housing options that will serve my constituents and residents throughout LA County who are more vulnerable to facing housing insecurity” shared Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Holly J. Mitchell, representing the Second District. “This funding is an investment in sustainable housing solutions that will directly impact hundreds of Angelenos. I am proud to support LACDA in this effort.”
“Approving these developments is critical, now more than ever, given the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. “Realizing affordable housing in communities at risk of displacement and gentrification, but also in high resource areas that need assistance in preserving access for people experiencing homelessness and extremely low-income families, must be met with urgency. And that is exactly what we are doing. I’m grateful that four projects will be within the First District – in the cities of Alhambra, El Monte, and Los Angeles – and look forward to breaking ground soon so that we can provide much-needed relief for our most vulnerable.”
“LA County has a critical crisis of affordability,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Third District. “The addition of nearly 900 new apartments is an important step in our ongoing effort to expand housing, and will also help our restaurant and grocery workers, our librarians and other folks with modest incomes be able to afford to live in the communities where they work.”
“We need to address our housing crisis head on and build more apartments people can afford,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Today, in my district, we are greenlighting new affordable apartment buildings in Santa Fe Springs and Huntington Park, and a community specifically dedicated to low-income veterans in Downey. Each one of these affordable units is going to be lifechanging to the families, veterans, seniors, and young people that will live in them.”
“Supporting locally-driven efforts that add affordable housing to the many communities that make up our County is a necessity,” stated Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Fifth District. “Solving the housing shortage crisis in Los Angeles County has many layers, but creating and sustaining effective partnerships is at the heart of it all. No one entity can fill the affordable housing gap. It takes willing partners from the public, private and non-profit sectors coming together to create efficient housing development plans, along with community input. The 12 affordable housing developments that we approved today are a step in the right direction. They are a good example of the County stepping up to help low-income community members during a tough economic time.”