City Council

(2) 21-1230 PLANNING AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT (PLUM) COMMITTEE REPORT relative to the methodology that ensures equity is at the core of future land use considerations and implementation of the 2021-2029 Housing Element. Recommendations for Council action: APPROVE the recommendations in the Department of City Planning (DCP) report dated December 2, 2022, relative to the methodology that ensures equity is at the core of future land use considerations and implementation of the 2021-2029 Housing Element, as follows: Instruct the DCP to continue to work with the City Administrative Officer (CAO), and the Bureau of Engineering (BOE), to ensure that as the LA Equity Index and Equity Scorecard pilot program are further refined, they are aligned to integrate into rezoning and land use planning, including the Citywide Housing Needs Assessment and Update to Growth Strategy (Housing Element Program 50). Instruct the DCP to provide reports to the PLUM Committee every 120 days, providing updates on progress towards meeting Housing Element rezoning targets and describing how equity methodologies are being incorporated into rezoning efforts. Instruct the DCP to provide annual reports on Housing Element implementation, including meeting the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and program implementation status. Affirm the direction of the Housing Element Rezoning Program to: ​​​ Focus the majority of housing capacity in areas with Higher Opportunity, and encompass factors identified through higher scores on the LA Equity Index, including areas offering a dense concentration of place-based characteristics linked to critical life outcomes, such as educational attainment, employment, and health and life expectancy. Protect communities vulnerable to displacement by focusing new housing growth in a way that reduces impacts to existing rental housing stock, while strengthening tenant protections by expanding housing replacement requirements and ensuring a tenants’ right to return to new housing. Maximize affordability and community benefits by strategically ‘capturing’ the value of rezoning by delivering more affordable housing, with longer affordability terms, and enhanced community benefits. Promote housing near jobs and transit and away from environmentally hazardous areas to facilitate reduced greenhouse gas emissions, create resilient housing stock, and support the use of community amenities. INSTRUCT the DCP, Housing Department, BOE, CAO and relevant departments to report back to the PLUM Committee on January 17, 2023 with a comparison of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee/California Department of Housing and Community Development (TCAC/HCD) Map, Controller's Los Angeles Equity Index, equity indicators developed by the City University of New York (CUNY) Institute for State and Local Governance and consult with the BOE Infrastructure Equity Project Team to provide recommendations with new updates the city can make to the Controller's Equity Index Map and incorporate into future land use decisions and programs in the Housing Element that will provide an equity methodology. INSTRUCT the DCP, Housing Department, BOE, CAO and relevant departments with an outline on the city's strategies, programs and effort towards creating equity tools for the city in the past five years and progress the city has done throughout the last five years. INSTRUCT the DCP and Housing Department to provide joint mid-year reports to Council on progress made toward reaching Housing Element RHNA and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) goals. INSTRUCT the DCP and Housing Department to report back prior to beginning public outreach on: An equity-driven analysis, priority recommendations, geographic distribution, and general timeline for the Rezoning Program based on an AFFH analysis for every rezoning strategy. An assessment on how the Rezoning Program, per technical studies currently underway as part of the adopted Housing Element, will incorporate recommendations for stronger anti-displacement guardrails, remedy historic discriminatory land use patterns, and maximize value capture.  An approach for ongoing tracking of production capacity to ensure fair share distribution and achieving AFFH goals by Community Plan Area. A detailed plan by departments with associated timelines and metrics for a thorough and meaningful public outreach and engagement processes as part of the Rezoning Program, especially to marginalized, historically underserved, and disadvantaged communities. An assessment of impacts of the Rezoning Program on rent-stabilized properties and tenants with recommendations for proactive outreach to tenants to communicate their rights and available resources. ​​INSTRUCT the DCP and Housing Department to submit and present the Annual Progress Report to City Council with a focus on a status report for all programs identified in the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Program.