Uncategorized

LA Received $86.5M for 500 Homeless Tiny Homes for Homeless: Not a Single Unit Bought 18 Months Later

By Chris Legras, Jaime Page : westsidecurrent – excerpt (include audio track)

In the latest installment of the Current’s investigation into failures in our city and state’s approach to the homelessness crisis, we explore Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Largest Mobilization of Small Homes”

LOS ANGELES – One of the great challenges in understanding the failures of the City and County of Los Angeles and the State of California to effectively address the homelessness crisis is identifying the full panoply of funding state, county and city agencies have brought to bear, and the myriad public agencies involved.

In the Westside Current’s ongoing investigation into these failures, particularly the thousands of unoccupied homeless housing units, we look at a signature program from Governor Gavin Newsom. In two rounds of funding from a state program called the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) initiative, the state allocated two rounds of funding, each amounting to $1 billion. Within these allocations, the City of Los Angeles was granted approximately $144 million to address homelessness.

In March 2023, the governor announced the release of an additional $1 billion through a fourth round of HHAP. The money was intended to help cities rapidly provide transitional housing for thousands, including the deployment of 1,200 units of “tiny homes” statewide. LA received an additional $86.5 million in this round, mostly to purchase and install 500 tiny homes throughout the city.

Under the strategy, the State would purchase the homes and the California National Guard would assist in preparing and delivering them to cities, “free of charge and ready for occupancy.”

Despite the enthusiastic announcement and an emergency order from the Mayor at the time, tangible progress on the tiny home initiative has been elusive. As of the end of May, not a single home has been constructed. The only tangible progress the city has made is submitting a list of potential locations for the housing units to the state.…(more)

Politics, Transportation

How to Fund Road Maintenance

By Phil Ting : richmondsunsetnews – excerpt

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has been exploring alternatives to the state gas tax that will finance the road work we need. Fewer drivers are paying this fuel tax, as they ditch their combustion engines in favor of cleaner cars. The problem will worsen as California closes in on the year 2035 when a ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles takes effect.

On average, Californians shell out about $300 a year in state gas taxes, raising about $8 billion annually to support 80% of road repair and maintenance. By comparison, zero-emission vehicle drivers like me pay a $100 annual DMV fee to help make up for not paying into the road fund. Estimates show there could be a $4.4 billion shortfall in a decade because of dwindling gas tax revenue.

The good news is, we see this coming and we have time to find a solution. There have already been two pilot programs trying out some ideas, but a third one is about to get under way, and Caltrans needs 800 volunteers statewide to be part of it. Road Charge Program participants will be compensated up to $400 in gift cards. Sign up now through the end of June at caroadcharge.com.

The road charge is an innovative funding mechanism allowing drivers to support road and highway maintenance based on how many miles they drive instead of how many gallons of gas they use. The more they drive, the more they pay. It’s just like electricity bills, which are calculated by how much power is used. A “user pay” system for transportation funding ensures that all drivers pay their fair share of keeping our streets in good condition…(more)

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the west side of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma and Daly City as well as part of South San Francisco.

Housing, Planning, Politics

Controversial proposed San Francisco tower is no more

By Kendra Smith : sfgate – excerpt

The developer has withdrawn permit applications for the hotly debated 50-story tower near SF’s Ocean Beach

A proposed 50-story tower in San Francisco that caused a stir when its permit applications were filed last year will not be built. According to an email sent on May 21 by a manager at developer CH Planning, LLC, to San Francisco Planning, which was obtained by SFGATE, the company is withdrawing all existing applications filed since December 2021 for its 2700 Sloat Blvd. property…

CH Planning had submitted several plans for residential buildings at the site over the years — but none were so controversial as the proposed 589-foot skyscraper in the city’s Outer Sunset neighborhood. The building would have been 316% taller than the area’s zoning regulations allow for, according to a response from city staff to the developer’s proposal. It also did not comply with the city’s planning code, and would have required rezoning in the area in order to be built.

But it wasn’t just the city that had words to share about the proposed tower. A group called Save our Neighborhoods San Francisco launched a petitionwith nearly 4,000 signatures asking the city to stop the development — even though it hadn’t yet been approved. The petition also asked the city to “create a vision and plan for SF that enhances our neighborhoods, and not allow randomly placed towering complexes.”…

The developer is selling the site to a nonprofit buyer that will build eight stories of affordable housing on the site, the San Francisco Chronicle reports… (more)

People want to know what the numbers are. Here are some numbers. 4,000 signatures get noticed. If it really important to pool our resources and support and to do the work to stop or support government plans for our lives. To that end, please review this site for actions you may take on causes you are “mad as hell” about: https://votersrevenge.wordpress.com/

 

Uncategorized

Silicon Valley Plays Charades with Argentina’s Far-Right President, and Our State

By Linda Perez : laprogressive – excerpt

When it comes to housing, healthcare, and workers’ rights, Milei has pushed a radical agenda that goes against communities, endangering the very fabric of democracy in Argentina…

Why is a California organization called the Bay Area Council bringing the far-right president of Argentina to our state? Javier Milei, in just six months in office, has sparked nationwide protests for attacking inclusion policies, removing gun restrictions, and threatening affordable housing, all of which the Council says it supports. Welcoming him to the Pacific Summit 2024 in San Jose this week raises disturbing questions about the Council and its own legislative agenda.

The Bay Area Council promotes itself as a champion for housing, transportation, and public safety. Yet its chosen headliner conflicts with the Council’s purported goals and reveals the increasingly illiberal, pro-corporate, and anti-democratic shift by the Council itself.

In recent months, the Council has sponsored four bills—SB 1092, SB 951, SB 1077, and AB 2560—that masquerade as tools for coastal housing access. In reality, they would extend some perks to developers and neuter the California Coastal Commission’s power…(more)

Uncategorized

Fall of the Third Street Promenade, Illegal hostels, and more

By Steven Sharp : la.urbanize.city – excerpt

L.A. real estate, architecture, and urban planning news from the past week…

Newsom Promised 1,200 Tiny Homes For Unhoused Californians. A Year Later, None Have Opened…
‘Shocking’: The fall of Third Street Promenade, Calif.’s once-vibrant outdoor mall…
Improving safety on the system: Metro launches TAP to exit pilot at North Hollywood B Line station beginning May 28…
Why Silicon Beach didn’t live up to the hype as an L.A. tech powerhouse…
City Repaved Coronado Street Without Measure HLA-Required Bikeway…
Opinion: California will force Malibu and other towns to add housing. Here’s why that’s not nearly enough…
Eyes on the Street: El Monte’s Merced Ave Linear Park…
Ex-Metro security chief says police patrols were so lax, they didn’t notice a dead man at station…
Consulting Firm Armanino Secures 45K SF of SoCal Office Space With Irvine Company…
Neighbors complain about illegal hostels…(more)

Uncategorized

Fall of the Third Street Promenade, Illegal hostels, and more

By Steven Sharp : la.urbanize.city – excerpt

L.A. real estate, architecture, and urban planning news from the past week…

Newsom Promised 1,200 Tiny Homes For Unhoused Californians. A Year Later, None Have Opened…
‘Shocking’: The fall of Third Street Promenade, Calif.’s once-vibrant outdoor mall…
Improving safety on the system: Metro launches TAP to exit pilot at North Hollywood B Line station beginning May 28…
Why Silicon Beach didn’t live up to the hype as an L.A. tech powerhouse…
City Repaved Coronado Street Without Measure HLA-Required Bikeway…
Opinion: California will force Malibu and other towns to add housing. Here’s why that’s not nearly enough…
Eyes on the Street: El Monte’s Merced Ave Linear Park…
Ex-Metro security chief says police patrols were so lax, they didn’t notice a dead man at station…
Consulting Firm Armanino Secures 45K SF of SoCal Office Space With Irvine Company…
Neighbors complain about illegal hostels…(more)

Uncategorized

Do-or-die week wraps for bills in California Legislature

By Alan Riquelmy : courthousenews – excerpt

Golden State lawmakers had until Friday to pass bills out of their house of origin.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — After spending the past few days in a rush to meet a crucial end-of-week deadline, California lawmakers eased into the holiday weekend with hundreds of bills advanced.

Bills had to pass out of their house of origin by Friday to stay alive. Both the Assembly and Senate held marathon sessions each day starting Monday, voting on hundreds of bills before the gavel fell Friday.

Assembly leadership, anxious to keep on schedule, expressed frustration at times when a quorum failed to appear each morning.

“Thank you to the 18 members today of the on-time caucus,” quipped Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Jim Wood, a Healdsburg Democrat, on Wednesday. Forty-one members are needed for a quorum.

The Senate and Assembly had packed schedules throughout the week — passing legislation on campus protests, book bans and voter ID — in anticipation of holding quick Friday sessions, which both achieved…(more)

Follow the actions going forward here: https://www.livablecalifornia.org/

Housing, Politics

Real estate investors snatching up record share of affordable homes, report finds

By FOX TV Digital Team : livenowfox – excerpt (includes video)

U.S. Mortgage rates jump above 7%

Homeownership has slipped out of reach for millions of Americans amid an astronomical rise in mortgage rates and an ongoing inventory shortage.

Adding to the list of challenges for potential homebuyers in the United States: Investors and hedge funds are also snatching up properties.

In fact, new findings from Redfin suggest it has been happening at the fastest pace in nearly two years.

Real-estate investors bought about 44,000 homes in the first quarter of 2024, up half a percent from the previous year – the first increase since 2022. The gain was primarily driven by an uptick in purchases of single-family homes…

Investors buying record share of most affordable homes, too…(more)

Planning

‘Shocking’: The fall of Third Street Promenade, Calif’s once-vibrant outdoor mall

By Paula Mejía : sfgate – excerpt

A unique confluence of factors has stymied the Third Street Promenade, a car-free outdoor mall by the iconic Santa Monica Pier

On a recent Sunday, the glittering coastline buffeting the Santa Monica Pier teemed with throngs of tourists. Visitors tried their hand at carnival games and rides on the waterfront, stopping to snap photos backdropped by the city’s arching blue-and-white sign. Others took in the sunshine while moseying around shops and dive bars around Ocean Avenue, which overlooks the vast azure expanse of the Pacific.

Yet that same liveliness evaporated a mere three blocks over at the city of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. Although the shopping and dining enclave is a car-free, open-air mall not unlike other heavily visited sites including Universal CityWalk and the Grove, only a small handful of people venture over to the outdoor esplanade these days. An estimated 10 million people visit the pier yearly; only a tiny fraction of them appear to be interested in the promenade. The leisurely Adirondack chairs lining the sidewalks sit vacant, the once-plentiful street performers have mostly vanished, and it’s not unusual to spot back-to-back-to-back retail vacancies along each nearly empty block.

It’s all one giant missed opportunity for Santa Monica, the standalone Los Angeles County city with the multimillion-dollar coastline. For decades, the promenade was seen as a masterful reimagining of public space, a rare pedestrian-only area in a region with underperforming public transit and too many cars…(more)

Housing

Joint Legislative Audit Committee to audit HCD Procedures and Oversight

via email from Livablecalifornia

Yesterday, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved a request by Senator Glazer to audit HCD related to Housing Element Reviews, Procedures and Oversight.

Audit scope  It was recommended the State Auditor select no fewer than 10 cities that are diverse in population and geography, and select an equal proportion of cities whose housing elements are in compliance with HCD’s standards, and cities whose housing elements are not in compliance. Adhering to those selection criteria will ensure the audit has a wide breath of data, and the results will better capture the experiences of all cities.

The audit’s scope will include, but is not limited to, the following:

  1. Review and evaluate the laws, rules, and regulations pertinent to the audit’s objectives
  2. Scrutinize how clear HCD’s standards and regulations are for housing elements to begin with. Are HCD’s standards and regulations detailed enough for local governments to apply to their housing elements? Is HCD available for assistance when local governments are completing their initial draft and, if so, what is the median amount of time local governments must wait for assistance?
  3. Assess how responsive HCD has been to local governments. What is the median amount of time and full range of time it takes for HCD to return a set of comments to a jurisdiction? What is the median amount of time and full range of time it takes for HCD to approve a housing element? How do these lengths of time compare to the fifth cycle review period? What is the median amount of occasions a jurisdiction can meet with their reviewer to ask questions?
  4. Measure how many different reviewers evaluate a jurisdiction’s housing element. What is the median number and full range of reviewers
  5. Determine the consistency of HCD’s comments and reviews. How consistent is the feedback between all reviewers assigned to one jurisdiction? How consistent is the feedback on similar topics across multiple jurisdictions?
  6. Evaluate the clarity of HCD’s feedback. Are the reviewer’s comments precise and measurable? Do the comments follow any specific criteria?
  7. Focus on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing standards and site analysis. In terms of clarity, do the comments related to these standards differ? Are the comments for these new standards precise, measurable, and following specific criteria?
  8. Assess how HCD communicated housing element submission deadlines to local governments. Is there a documented and clear line of communication from HCD on when a local government must submit its housing element for review? How far in advance of the deadline did HCD communicate this, and is it different than past cycles?
  9. Evaluate HCD staffing levels and the turnover rate. Compared to the fifth cycle review period, how many housing element reviewers does HCD have? What is the median amount of time that reviewers work at HCD and how does that compared to the fifth cycle? What is the median amount of time one reviewer stays assigned to the same local government to review their housing element, and how does that compare to the fifth cycle?
  10. Analyze how HCD trains its new and existing staff assigned to review housing elements. How long is a new employee’s initial training and what procedures does training consist of? Does HCD offer additional training to existing staff and, if so, how often? What does the additional training consist of? Does HCD’s training set reviewers up to adequately review housing elements and provide clear comments to local governments?
  11. Review and assess any other issues pertinent to the audit.

Now that the Senator’s request has been approved, it will move to the State Auditor’s Office to conduct the audit and report back to the Legislature. The timing for the audit will be based on the State Auditor’s currently workload, as well as the depth and breadth of the audit request. Currently, the State Auditor is still working on audit requests that were made by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee last year, so it will likely be early 2025 before the audit is complete. In the coming weeks, the State Auditor will update their website and provide an estimated completion date.