LA Examiner

Tag: los angeles housing

  • LA Churches Respond to Housing Crisis with Affordable Projects

    LA Churches Respond to Housing Crisis with Affordable Projects

    Image credit: Unsplash

    Los Angeles is facing a severe shortage of housing for low-income renters. Making matters even more difficult is that buying land in such an expensive part of the state is often challenging for affordable housing developers. Together, these two issues create a self-perpetuating cycle, making affordable living a struggle across the city.

    Fortunately, California lawmakers offered one possible answer for where to build when they passed SB 4, a statewide law that took affect earlier this year. It allows religious groups to fast-track new housing on properties they already own, effectively making it so that churches are legally allowed to build housing properties for sale or rental purposes.

    The Catholic Church’s Response to L.A.’s Housing Crisis

    Now, the Catholic church in L.A. plans to do just that. The Archdiocese of L.A. announced Wednesday it will partner with a newly formed nonprofit called Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing Alliance to develop affordable housing in Southern California.

    The church, known for assisting immigrants and feeding unhoused people, aims to use its extensive land holdings to help address the region’s housing crisis. Their first project will be located on Archdiocese land currently used by Catholic Charities. They plan to use the property to construct affordable apartments next to L.A. City College. The goal is for these apartments to be utilized by community college students and youth transitioning out of foster care.

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    Amy Anderson, the executive director for Queen of Angels Housing, said the mission is to confront one of the region’s biggest moral dilemmas head-on. “We’re losing a generation of people to housing insecurity,” said Anderson, who served as L.A.’s Chief Housing Officer under former Mayor Eric Garcetti. “It’s very difficult for people to live in health — mental health, physical health — and for them to get ahead when there’s no physical foundation, no home for which to do that.”

    As school enrollment declines and membership in religious orders dwindles, Queen of Angels Housing could also develop former Catholic schools or convents into housing developments.

    “The properties are in transition because our communities are constantly changing,” Anderson said. “It does create this opportunity to re-evaluate what can be done with that land.”

    According to figures provided by the church, the Archdiocese of L.A. has:

    • 288 parishes
    • 265 elementary and high schools
    • 4.35 million Catholic attendees

    Last year, Muhammad Alameldin, a researcher with UC Berkeley’s Terner Center, and his colleagues published a study that found faith-based organizations and nonprofit colleges across California own enough land suitable for housing development to equal nearly five times the city of Oakland.

    However, Alameldin said it’s one thing for churches to support the idea of new housing on their property — it’s another to construct it.

    At this early stage, it is unclear precisely how much land the Archdiocese intends to put toward housing development. However, local Catholic leaders are signaling that housing will be a growing part of the church’s charitable mission.

    Collaborating with Communities to Build Affordable Housing

    L.A. Archbishop José Gomez will chair the board for Queen of Angels Housing. In a statement, he said, “Through Catholic Charities and our ministries on Skid Row and elsewhere, we have been working for many years to provide shelter and services for our homeless brothers and sisters. With this new initiative, we see exciting possibilities for making more affordable housing available, especially for families and young people.”

    The Catholic church isn’t the only religious organization in L.A. pursuing affordable housing development. The Jewish congregation Ikar is working on a 60-unit project on the site of its offices in L.A.’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood, and the multi-faith organization L.A. Voice has been helping local churches develop early plans for their projects.

  • Angelenos Call for More Housing in Single-Family Neighborhoods 

    Angelenos Call for More Housing in Single-Family Neighborhoods 

    Image credit: Unsplash

    Los Angeles city planners held a virtual meeting last Thursday night to gather public feedback on their plans to meet ambitious housing production goals. While the meeting had a host of opposing viewpoints, dozens of Angelenos repeated the same argument throughout the evening: the city needs to allow new apartments to be built in single-family neighborhoods. 

    The already outlined blueprint by the L.A. Planning Department aims to achieve a state-mandated housing goal of nearly 457,000 new homes by 2029. Officials state that the city can get there by doubling down on development in already dense areas by offering builders incentives. 

    Yet, this blueprint leaves out the 72% of residential land in L.A. that is zoned exclusively for single-family homes. While the current plans have pleased homeowner groups, they have also spurred criticism from renter advocates, homeless service providers, and affordable housing developers who argue that apartment housing options should be developed in single-family neighborhoods.

    “We live in the second largest city in the country, with so much economic opportunity, and yet we are landlocking 75% of our residentially zoned land for exclusively wealthy people,” said Kiersten Stanley of Studio City. “One wealthy family can come in and build a mini-mansion that’s 4,000 square feet. But God forbid four families move into four 1,000-square-foot places.”

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    Advocating for Change

    Many other speakers mirrored Stanley’s argument, urging the city to reverse course and provide more opportunities to build up single-family neighborhoods. Many speakers opposing the current housing plans described the decision to exempt single-family neighborhoods as an issue of racial and economic justice. Some opponents pointed out that erecting barriers around areas that remain wealthy and exclusive today perpetuates the legacy of redlining and other zoning restrictions that had racist origins.

    “Historically, it has been established to exclude people of color from predominantly white neighborhoods,” said Andres Perkins. “This drove a lot of unequal access to housing, education, and jobs. Continuing that will further that segregation we’re trying to move past.”

    Despite opposing arguments, the virtual meeting also heard from advocates who wish to keep single-family neighborhoods left alone. They argue that new housing belongs on the city’s dense main throughways, as those apartments will be closer to transit lines and businesses. 

    “There’s simply no reason to wreck these neighborhoods with random density until we’ve built out our corridors closer to our commercial districts,” said Tracy Thrower Conyers with the group Concerned for Westchester/Playa Del Rey. Thrower further stated, “I often hear groups like the one I represent called NIMBYs… It’s unfortunate that local planning has been reduced to pejorative name-calling.”

    Future Steps and Decision Making

    City planning officials have made no immediate decisions on amending the plans, but the feedback during the meeting would help inform revised drafts, which will first go to the City Planning Commission before heading to the L.A. City Council for a final vote by February 2025. 

    “That said, we’re looking for your feedback today and we appreciate all the folks who’ve come out here today to share their perspective related to single-family,” Smith said. “We’re very much in a listening phase.”