Housing LA, the broad coalition that fought for and won Los Angeles’ Housing Trust Fund, is now working to significantly increase the supply of safe, decent homes that people can afford.

Our current housing crisis is tearing at the social and economic fabric of many Los Angeles neighborhoods. For many people--school teachers, health care workers, bus drivers, security officers, and many middle-class professionals--our city’s sky high rents and home prices are out of reach. To make ends meet, many employees live hours away from where they work. In the midst of great wealth,48,000 homeless men, women and children sleep on the streets each night.

The housing market is broken. Most developers are only building expensive new apartments and houses. Some owners are also evicting poor and middle-class renters to convert their apartments to high-priced condominiums.The gap between the rich and the working poor - those who can afford housing and those who cannot - grows wider. Creating more affordable housing is necessary if we are to restore the middle class in Los Angeles.

It’s time for LA’s City Council to approve a comprehensive plan that gives people from all walks of life more housing choices: the choice of a home that meets your budget, the choice to stay in your neighborhood, the choice to live near your work, the choice to get off the street. With the right leadership, we can build many more homes that people can afford, as well as protect the ones we have.

In November 2006, LA residents sent a clear message that they want our Mayor and Council Members to address the city’s housing crisis. In 13 out of 15 council districts, strong majorities voted for new housing bonds, propositions 1C and H. Reliable and practical ways to increase housing choices do exist.

Housing LA’s 3-point plan to solve the problem:

1. Commit to long-term funding for Los-Angeles’ Housing Trust Fund. Because there is not a quick fix and it will take years to build the homes we need, the Trust Fund must have a reliable dedicated source of revenue.

2. Protect the affordable homes we have. Many cities limit the demolition and conversion of apartments and residential hotels. LA must do the same. Rent control laws must also be enforced to ensure that people are not illegally forced out of their homes.

3. Build mixed-income neighborhoods. In over 170 cities, when developers build new apartments, condominiums or houses they must make some of each development affordable to people with low and moderate incomes. We need to do this in Los Angeles as well.

Livable Places is an active member of Housing LA which is coordinated by the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing. Click here to join Housing LA.

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