72% Of LA's Residential Area Isn't Included In Pending Affordable Housing Plan

By: Bianca Barragan

As Los Angeles plans to update the housing guidelines that dictate where new homes can be built, affordability advocates have noticed something they find troubling: The plan leaves out nearly three-quarters of the residential portion of the city. 

That is because the city’s plan leaves out land zoned for single-family homes, which make up 72% of LA’s residential area.

The city seems to be on track to keep it that way, but a coalition of about 40 organizations that work on housing issues are pushing to change things. They want the city to open up more single-family areas for multifamily development by changing the zoning during the state-mandated housing element update process. 

As Los Angeles plans to update the housing guidelines that dictate where new homes can be built, affordability advocates have noticed something they find troubling: The plan leaves out nearly three-quarters of the residential portion of the city. 

Single-family zones are not eligible for affordable housing incentives the city is planning, with some exceptions for projects proposed by and on land owned by religious organizations. They are also left out of a transit-focused incentive package for affordable housing, the planning department said in an October note. 

Adding more incentives to commercial areas or parts of the city where apartment projects are already allowed won’t help the city meet the ambitious housing targets it needs to, the letter said. According to the California Regional Housing Needs Assessment, Los Angeles needs to add more than 450,000 housing units by 2029. 

Those in the development community who spoke with Bisnow agreed that making more land open to multifamily development in the city would remove one hurdle to build more housing and noted that it was likely the only way to hit the mandated housing goals the city will be on the hook for. 

But there are a number of other hurdles between new housing projects and the finish line, including high interest rates and construction costs, relatively flat rents and even Measure ULA, said CBRE Executive Vice President Dean Zander, who specializes in multifamily investment sales.

Others in the development community noted that, in their experience, housing is already challenging to build where it should theoretically be allowed.  

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