Karen Bass seeks City Council approval for $360-million affordable housing project, using 'housing tax' funding
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Council Member Ysabel Jurado called Thursday for the allocation of more than $360 million to developers and nonprofits and to preserve affordable housing projects.
The budget, which requires City Council approval, will fund 80 projects, which will build 1,528 new homes and renovate more than 2,500 affordable units that need work.
“This is a $360 million investment to build, preserve and improve affordable housing throughout Los Angeles,” Jurado said at a news conference in Boyle Heights. “That means more affordable housing is built in our neighborhoods, more existing housing is preserved so families are not evicted.”
Funding for the projects comes largely from the city's United to House LA tax — also called the “big house tax” — which imposes a 4% tax on property sales between $5.3 million and $10.6 million and 5.5% on home sales above that.
The city announced the opening of applications for the program in September and the Los Angeles Department of Housing on Monday released a report to the City Council detailing exactly which projects will receive funding – and how much.
Since its passage in 2022, the ULA tax has raised more than $1.1 billion in revenue for more than 1,500 real estate transactions, but much of the funding has remained untouched in part because of fears the tax could be overturned in court.
The city passed a plan to spend $150 million on ULA by 2023 and another $425 million by 2025.
City payments detailed in the housing department's report include a $44 million 100-unit housing project near the Crypto.com Arena.
“This is Measure ULA that works, turning the will of the voters into real solutions for our communities,” said Jurado, who chairs the council's newly formed Measure ULA Ad-Hoc Committee.
The committee is considering changes to this law, many in the housing industry do not believe that they will slow down development in the city.
On Thursday, Bass and Jurado also announced a $14 million investment in ULA's new “Emergency Income Support Program” funding.
The program opened for applications this week and can award up to $12,500 to households of 1-2 people and up to $19,000 to households of five or more.
Applicants for this program must live in the city, include an elderly or disabled person in the household, and be responsible for rent among other criteria.
$14 million is expected to help about 1,000 families, said Abigail Marquez, general manager of the city's Department of Community Investment for Families.
Bass said the two investments are complementary.
“With $14 million in housing assistance and $300 million in housing, this is one way the city is breaking away from the underinvestment of the past to focus on prevention and housing production so Angelenos don't get into homelessness in the first place so we have the housing we need to lower costs,” Bass said.
Bass is seeking re-election in the city's June 2 primary, where the high cost of housing in Los Angeles emerged as an issue in the mayoral and council district race.
