LA City Council
Committees Strengthen Housing Element
On July 29th, City Council's Planning & Land Use Management Committee and Housing, Community and Economic
Development Committee, meeting jointly, further strengthened the draft Housing Element after
hearing testimony from over 60 people. Housing LA's 3-point plan was brought up
repeatedly as community organizations, tenants, and housing developers testified to
the need for stronger preservation, a new mixed-income housing ordinance, and
more local funds to build and preserve affordable homes.
Among the 32 people testifying in support of Housing LA's positions were
representatives from POWER, LA Voice, SCANPH, ACORN, Public Counsel, Legal Aid
Foundation of Los Angeles, LA CAN, Western Center on Law & Poverty, Clinica
Romero, Los Angeles Community Design Center, St. Vincent de Paul, LA Coalition
to End Hunger & Homelessness, California Community Foundation Land Trust,
Venice Community Housing Coalition, and Century Housing.
Amongst other changes, the committees added preservation, extremely-low-income and
moderate-income to the mixed-income housing program and maintained the
end-of-the-year time line for a motion in City Council. Housing LA supports this change as well as various other
programs and policies in the element that promote the preservation and production of
affordable housing in Los Angeles. The Draft Housing Element will
be heading to the full City Council on August 13th for final approval.
August 13th Press Conference at City Hall
Housing LA
invites allies and endorsers to a press conference on the south steps of City
Hall (1st and Main St.) this upcoming Wednesday, August 13th
to celebrate the passing of a strong Housing Element that calls for real
planning to address the city's affordable housing needs.
We are
inviting all nine City Councilmembers (Councilmembers Alarcón, Garcetti,
Greuel, Hahn, Huizar, Perry, Reyes, Rosendahl and Wesson) who have signed the
Housing LA/ LA VOICE Housing Pledge to stand beside community, religious,
labor, and business leaders to mark the momentum we are gaining for the Housing
LA 3-Point Plan.
In signing
the pledge, the Councilmembers committed to working on a comprehensive plan to
address Los Angeles' housing crisis. By
supporting and passing a strong Housing Element that includes preservation and
production strategies for the next few years (2006-20014), these signatories
have taken steps that support their pledge commitment. We applaud our council supporters for this
action, and turn our focus to early fall and the passing of a mixed-income
housing ordinance.
The event
is tentatively scheduled for 1pm on Wednesday, but will not begin
before the conclusion of the council meeting. We will inform you of more
details very soon, but we encourage all our supporters to mark their calendars
and turnout on Wednesday.
Maria Elena Durazo joins Housing LA Honorary
Committee
Recently
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena
Durazo signed on as a Housing LA Honorary Committee Co-Chair. She joins Housing LA Co-Chairs Los Angeles
City Controller the Honorable Laura Chick and United Way of Greater Los Angles President and
CEO Elise Buik.
Housing LA
is very proud to add Maria Elena to the long list of Housing LA Honorary
Committee members and organizational endorsers that demonstrates our broad
coalition of community based organizations, labor unions, non-profit housing
developers, religious congregations, and businesses.
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Sincerely,
Housing LA Staff
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Housing LA Honorary Co-Chair
Maria Elena Durazo at
the Housing LA Launch
at City Hall in March 2008
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Housing LA
3345 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90010
213.480.1249 x254
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