Council Adopts Motion From Councilmember Raman To Create Affordable Housing Database
For Immediate Release: May 16, 2023
COUNCIL ADOPTS MOTION FROM COUNCILMEMBER RAMAN TO CREATE COMPREHENSIVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DASHBOARD
LOS ANGELES -- Last week, the Los Angeles City Council approved a motion introduced by Councilmember Nithya Raman instructing the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) to create a centralized, comprehensive, multilingual online dashboard that would allow tenants seeking housing to search for all available affordable housing in the City of Los Angeles. Additionally, the motion requests LAHD to find ways to simplify the process for applicants to apply to such properties.
In recent years, the City of Los Angeles has significantly increased its affordable housing supply, the majority of which has been produced through incentive-based programs like the State Density Bonus and Transit Oriented Communities Incentive programs. Yet, residents of Los Angeles who qualify for affordable housing do not currently have a comprehensive and straightforward means of finding and applying for this housing. Councilmember Raman’s legislation seeks to create a centralized system to make it easier for local residents to find and apply for available affordable housing, both publicly subsidized and privately financed, within the City’s municipal boundaries.
“In the midst of an ongoing housing crisis it is inherently very difficult for people to find housing,” said Councilmember Raman. “It is incumbent upon us as City leaders to ensure that we are creating systems to make the process of finding and applying for covenanted affordable housing as transparent and user-friendly as possible.”
Councilmember Raman’s motion instructs LAHD to report back with recommendations and a proposed implementation timeline for creating a comprehensive, multilingual online system that would allow potential applicants to search for all available affordable housing in the City of Los Angeles.
###
Council Adopts Motion From Councilmember Raman To Create Holistic Investment Strategy For Interim And Permanent Housing to Reduce Unsheltered Homelessness
For Immediate Release: May 16, 2023
COUNCIL ADOPTS MOTION FROM COUNCILMEMBER RAMAN TO CREATE HOLISTIC INVESTMENT STRATEGY FOR INTERIM AND PERMANENT HOUSING TO REDUCE UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS
LOS ANGELES -- Last week, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion introduced by Councilmember Nithya Raman to design a holistic investment strategy for growing the City’s permanent and interim housing stock. With more than 25,000 individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness on any given night in the City of Los Angeles, investments have yet to match the housing needs required to address this crisis. Councilmember Raman’s legislation seeks to create a comprehensive investment strategy designed to produce housing capacity sufficient to make significant reductions in both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness.
Between 2019 and 2022, the City brought thousands of beds and housing units online, leading to a count of 13,522 people in shelter in 2022—a 51% increase from three years earlier. Additionally, according to LAHD’s supportive housing tracker, 4,146 HHH permanent supportive housing units have been completed, with 4,986 under construction and more planned. However, the current rate of investment in both permanent and interim housing does not meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness on the City’s streets.
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we cannot solve our homelessness crisis without housing,” said Councilmember Raman. “Right now, the investments we have made at the City to grow our permanent and interim housing stock simply do not match the scale of the crisis. We need to dramatically increase our investments to meet the urgency this issue demands, leveraging every dollar we can to build the housing we desperately need.”
Councilmember Raman’s legislation directs the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) to report back in 30 days with a holistic investment strategy to increase the production of permanent and interim housing, including recommendations on the size of investment needed, the housing typologies to target, and a projection of additional outside dollars the City will need to leverage.
###
Council Adopts Motion From Councilmember Raman To Bring Mental And Health Care Services To City-Funded Interim Housing Sites
For Immediate Release: May 10, 2023
COUNCIL ADOPTS MOTION FROM COUNCILMEMBER RAMAN TO BRING MENTAL HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE SERVICES TO CITY-FUNDED INTERIM HOUSING SITES
LOS ANGELES -- Yesterday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously adopted a motion introduced by Councilmember Nithya Raman to bring mental health and health care services to City-funded interim housing sites. While the City of Los Angeles has made significant investments in interim housing programs in recent years, these sites are not equipped with on-site medical, mental, and behavioral health support for program participants. Councilmember Raman’s legislation will help to close this gap in services by enabling Street Medicine teams to provide medical, mental, and behavioral health services at all City-funded interim housing sites.
In February, the City expanded the number of fully-funded Street Medicine teams from one team to three, providing critical care to support people experiencing homelessness—and crucially, continuing to provide those services as these individuals transition to living indoors. These mobile teams are able to provide general medical services, behavioral health services, addiction recovery services, and medical care management to both individuals living unsheltered and transitioning into interim housing sites. Furthermore, these teams are able to cover a large portion of the costs of these services by billing Medi-Cal for both medical services and CalAIM services. However, these reimbursements do not entirely cover the costs of the program, particularly for service recipients who, for various reasons, are uninsured.
“We know that our unhoused neighbors often have either a mental illness, a substance use disorder, or a physical disability and that providing these individuals with a full spectrum of care is critical for easing the transition from living on the streets to interim housing,” said Councilmember Raman. “If we are to successfully bring people indoors and keep them from falling back into homelessness, the City must subsidize these services in order to ensure that Street Medicine teams are able to provide continuous care to residents at all City-funded interim housing sites.”
Councilmember Raman’s legislation directs the City Administrative Officer (CAO) to report back within 30 days with recommendations that will enable Street Medicine teams to provide medical, mental and behavioral health services at all City-funded interim housing sites, including appropriate funding, staffing, and other resources to initiate this expansion of Street Medicine services as soon as possible. Additionally, the legislation directs the CAO, with the assistance of the Chief Legislative Analyst, to explore additional funding sources for these much-needed services, including State and Federal grants and potential agreements with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and the Department of Health Services.
###
Councilmember Raman Commends Adoption Of Hollywood Community Plan
For Immediate Release: May 3, 2023
COUNCILMEMBER NITHYA RAMAN COMMENDS ADOPTION OF HOLLYWOOD COMMUNITY PLAN
LOS ANGELES -- Today, Councilmember Nithya Raman voted in favor of adopting the Hollywood Community Plan, which affects the Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, and Los Feliz portions of Council District 4. The updated plan incorporates significant changes including: protecting tenants and small businesses, preserving rent-stabilized and affordable housing stock, directing growth away from sensitive hillside areas, conserving open space in the Santa Monica Mountains, protecting historic and cultural resources, and improving infrastructure to support sustainable, connected, and walkable neighborhoods.
“Waiting 35 years to update the Hollywood Community Plan – last adopted in 1988 – has hurt current tenants and prevents the thoughtful management of development in our neighborhoods,” said Councilmember Raman. “With today’s historic vote, we are moving forward with a new plan to preserve affordability and accommodate growth in the greater Hollywood area for the years ahead.”
Councilmember Raman secured several changes to the Hollywood Community Plan and Community Plan Implementation Overlay (CPIO), including:
- Requiring a true one-to-one replacement for demolished rent-stabilized and covenanted units by adding clear standards that projects using the CPIO incentive program cannot count their required affordable units towards their replacement requirements.
- Incorporating tenant protections to further support low-income tenants against displacement by incorporating additional provisions under SB330/SB8 such as relocation, right to return, and right of first refusal.
- Increasing covenant terms for affordable units within a mixed-income development receiving incentives from 55 years to 99 years.
- Instructing the Planning Department to look into using lower rent schedules for unsubsidized mixed-income projects that set truly affordable rents for working families.
- Increasing on-site affordability in Commercial Corridor Subareas for projects using the CPIO incentive program.
###
Councilmember Raman Introduces Motion To Bring Mental And Health Care Services To City-Funded Interim Housing Sites
For Immediate Release: April 12, 2023
COUNCILMEMBER RAMAN INTRODUCES MOTION TO BRING MENTAL AND HEALTH CARE SERVICES TO CITY-FUNDED INTERIM HOUSING SITES
LOS ANGELES -- Yesterday, Councilmember Nithya Raman introduced a motion to bring mental and health care services to City-funded interim housing sites. While the City of Los Angeles has made significant investments in interim housing programs in recent years, these sites are not equipped with on-site medical, mental, and behavioral health support for program participants. Councilmember Raman’s legislation seeks to close this gap in services by enabling Street Medicine teams to provide medical, mental, and behavioral health services at all City-funded interim housing sites.
In February, the City expanded the number of fully-funded Street Medicine teams from one team to three, providing critical care to support people experiencing homelessness – and crucially, continuing to provide those services as these individuals transition to living indoors. These mobile teams are able to provide general medical services, behavioral health services, addiction recovery services, and medical care management to both individuals living unsheltered and transitioning into interim housing sites. Furthermore, these teams are able to cover a large portion of the costs of these services by billing Medi-Cal for both medical services and CalAIM services. However, these reimbursements do not entirely cover the costs of the program, particularly for service recipients who, for various reasons, are uninsured.
“We know that our unhoused neighbors often have either a mental illness, a substance use disorder, or a physical disability and that providing these individuals with a full spectrum of care is critical for easing the transition from living on the streets to interim housing,” said Councilmember Raman. “If we are to successfully bring people indoors and keep them from falling back into homelessness, the City must subsidize these services in order to ensure that Street Medicine teams are able to provide continuous care to residents, and so that these teams can expand their care to all residents of all City-funded interim housing sites.”
Councilmember Raman’s legislation directs the City Administrative Officer (CAO) to report back within 30 days with recommendations that will enable Street Medicine teams to provide medical, mental and behavioral health services at all City-funded interim housing sites, including appropriate funding, staffing, and other resources to initiate this expansion of Street Medicine services as soon as possible. Additionally, the legislation directs the CAO, with the assistance of the Chief Legislative Analyst, to explore additional funding sources for these much-needed services, including State and Federal grants and potential agreements with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and the Department of Health Services.
###
Council Adopts Motion from Councilmembers Raman and Hernandez to Develop Implementation Plan for ULA
For Immediate Release: February 22, 2022
COUNCIL ADOPTS MOTION FROM COUNCILMEMBERS RAMAN AND HERNANDEZ TO DEVELOP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR MEASURE ULA
LOS ANGELES -- Yesterday, Council voted to adopt a motion from Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez to develop an implementation plan for Measure ULA, or United to House LA. Measure ULA was approved on the November 2022 California ballot and establishes, funds, and authorizes programs to increase permanent supportive and affordable housing stock and to provide resources to tenants at risk of homelessness through a 4% tax on sales/transfers of real property exceeding $5 million and through a 5.5% tax on sales/transfers of real properties of $10 million or more, with exceptions.
“It is imperative that we act with urgency to implement Measure ULA, which is expected to generate approximately $600 million to $1.1 billion annually – the largest source of revenue for these programs to date,” said Councilmember Raman. “This is truly the first housing initiative of its kind anywhere in the United States that will have such a widespread, immediate, and long-term impact on the housing and homelessness crisis.”
“We are in the midst of a crisis with more than 40,000 people living unhoused in our City, and thousands more at risk of joining them unless we move forward with holistic housing-first solutions,” said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. “The voters have spoken and overwhelmingly voted in favor of Measure ULA. This motion honors the will of the people by ensuring that we make the most of this unprecedented revenue stream to keep vulnerable renters housed and build the affordable housing stock that we so desperately need.”
"Voters overwhelmingly passed Measure ULA because they demanded solutions to Los Angeles' housing affordability and homelessness crisis—solutions that come from LA's housing and homelessness organizations, who do this work every day and are experts at what they do,” said Laura Raymond, Director of ACT-LA and Co-Chair Yes on Measure ULA. “With the expiration of LA's COVID-19 renter protections, we must act quickly to protect renters and prevent a future eviction-to-homelessness pipeline from occurring. We look forward to continuing to work with the City to ensure that Angelenos see the solutions promised in Measure ULA enacted in their neighborhoods as soon as possible."
Raman and Hernandez’s motion instructs the Los Angeles Housing Department, with assistance from the City Administrative Officer, the City Attorney’s Office, the Department of Finance, and any other relevant departments, to report back within 15 days on the implementation of Measure ULA, including:
- Foundational guidelines and resources needed to effectively implement Measure ULA
- Strategies for continued consultation with community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and experts in the field, including the authors of the ballot measure; and
- Plans to begin collecting ULA revenue beginning April 1, 2023.
The motion also requires a plan to be drawn up for for the expenditure of up to $500,000 to establish the House LA Fund and House LA Program, prior to April 1, 2023 as well as identify any existing City, County, State, or federal funds—including the City’s General Fund and Reserve Fund—that could be utilized to effectively and expeditiously support rent relief, homelessness prevention, and affordable housing programs prior to Measure ULA revenue becoming available.
###
Joint Letter from Councilmembers Raman and Yaroslavsky Urging Improved Home Sharing Ordinance Enforcement
February 6, 2023
Mr. Vince Bertoni, Director of Planning, Los Angeles City Planning
200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Mr. Osama Younan, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety
201 N. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Ms. Hydee Feldstein Soto, City Attorney, Los Angeles City Attorney
200 N. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Ms. Ann Sewill, General Manager, Los Angeles Housing Department
1200 W. 7th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017
Mr. Michel Moore, Chief of Police, Los Angeles Police Department
100 W. 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Dear Mr. Bertoni, Mr. Younan, Ms. Soto, Ms. Sewill, and Mr. Moore,
Our offices are coming together to request the prioritization of improving enforcement of the Home Sharing Ordinance (HSO). Since the HSO was passed, the Departments of City Planning, Housing, Building and Safety, Police, and the City Attorney's Office have made significant progress in cracking down on non-compliant listings and removing thousands of non-compliant properties or bad actors from hosting platforms. However, the process of removing listings and enforcing fines can be lengthy and cumbersome, particularly when dealing with chronic bad actors and incidents of violent crime.
The consequences of insufficient enforcement are significant. Public safety is impacted. On January 28, 2023, three people were killed and four wounded outside of a short-term rental in Benedict Canyon. Last year, a shooting occurred outside a short-term rental in Studio City after what was described in news reports as an out-of-control party, and another individual was shot and killed at a short-term rental in Encino. There are many more incidents of a similar nature at short-term rental locations across the city.
Short-term rentals also have destabilizing effects in communities by removing units from the long-term rental housing market - especially rent-stabilized units - facilitating unauthorized commercial activities, and creating quality-of-life issues for neighbors related to noise and parking. While we sincerely appreciate your diligence in dealing with infringements with the resources available, we believe that more can be done.
Most recently, the Council asked for reports on improving enforcement that have not yet been provided. Council File 14-1635-S10, which focuses on improving the process of enforcement overall, was introduced in August 2021, and passed in April 2022. Additionally, Council File 14-1635-S11, which asks for swift action when there are incidents of violence, was passed in January 2022. We urgently request that you provide reports with clear and vigorous recommendations and next steps.
Other cities have been able to curb bad actors through aggressive monitoring and enforcement. For example, Portland has a map of all registered short-term rentals and requires that hosts occupy their dwelling unit for at least 270 days during each calendar year and send a letter to their neighbors and submit proof of that letter with their home-sharing application. Inglewood requires that the owner of the short-term rental be a natural person. San Francisco has a dedicated Office of Short-Term Rentals responsible for administering enforcement which also runs a centralized website to file complaints as guests or about potential illegal hosting activities. New Orleans has a public database of current, expired, and revoked permits. In Seattle, all hosting platforms have to submit quarterly reports. Toronto’s enforcement targets ghost hotels and houses, defined as properties with no primary residents being used as full-time short-term operations. Santa Monica has a Private Right of Action option for individual enforcement.
It is crucial to learn from these cities and to update our existing policy as needed and as soon as possible. As elected officials, we want to ensure that your respective departments are provided the necessary discretion, direction, resources, and tools to effectively and expeditiously address dangerous situations and other violations and improper abuses of the City’s Home Sharing Ordinance.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Nithya Raman
Councilmember, 4th Council District
City of Los Angeles
Katy Yaroslavsky
Councilmember, 5th Council District
City of Los Angeles
Councilmember Nithya Raman Statement In Support Of Newly Adopted Tenant Protections
For Immediate Release: January 20, 2023
COUNCILMEMBER NITHYA RAMAN STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF NEWLY ADOPTED TENANT PROTECTIONS
LOS ANGELES -- Today, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a suite of permanent tenant protections including establishing universal just cause, setting a minimum threshold for eviction for tenants who fall behind on rent, and requiring landlords to pay relocation fees in some situations where rent gouging would result in the tenant’s displacement.
Last June, Councilmember Raman put forward the initial request to the Housing Department for recommendations on protecting tenants that led to these protections. As Chair of the newly formed Housing & Homelessness Committee, Councilmember Raman advanced and advocated for this series of new protections to keep more Angelenos in their homes in the aftermath of the COVID emergency period.
Councilmember Nithya Raman issued the following statement after the vote:
Housing stability is vital to combat so many of the challenges LA is facing right now: displacement, gentrification, segregation, homelessness, population loss, and more.
Today's advancements in tenant protections, the most significant since the institution of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, are a major step toward keeping hundreds of thousands of tenants across the city housed. I'm very grateful to my colleagues who helped advance them today, and especially to all of the coalition partners who fought for change throughout this process.
###
Councilmember Raman Introduces Motion To Increase The City’s Interim Housing Stock
For Immediate Release: December 14, 2022
LOS ANGELES -- Yesterday, Councilmember Nithya Raman introduced a motion to streamline the City of Los Angeles’ process for acquiring and developing private properties and buildings for use as interim housing in order to increase supply and the rate at which it is made available. Raman’s legislation seeks to create a request for proposal (RFP) process that would require the City to develop consistent standards for interim housing sites that applicants would have to meet prior to submitting their parcels or buildings for consideration.
The 2022 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count revealed that over 41,000 people are experiencing homelessness in the City of Los Angeles, and more than 28,000 of them are experiencing unsheltered homelessness. A recent report from the City Administrative Officer (CAO) indicates that, even with recent additions, there are only about 14,000 interim housing beds Citywide, most of which are already occupied. This means that in order to bring people indoors at scale, the City must dramatically increase the supply of interim housing and the rate at which it is made available.
“The system – or lack thereof – currently relies on private owners, the CAO, or individual council offices to identify available private land or buildings, and provides no guidance regarding site eligibility and no clear set of criteria that must be met during site review,” said Councilmember Raman. “By creating a standardized process, we can quickly identify appropriate sites, build more housing, and build it faster in order to meet the City’s urgent need for beds to bring those experiencing unsheltered homelessness indoors.”
Raman’s motion would direct the City Administrative Officer (CAO), with assistance from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), to report back within 60 days with recommendations for creating a standardized RFP process for privately-owned parcels and buildings to be considered for development or acquisition as interim housing sites, along with options for funding the RFP. The motion additionally requests a second report with recommendations for creating a standardized site review process that would include requirements about accessibility, habitability, and other relevant standards.
####
Council Adopts Raman, Bonin, And Harris-Dawson Motion To Prioritize Livable, Sustainable, And Affordable Communities In The City’s Housing Element
For Immediate Release: December 7, 2022
LOS ANGELES -- Today, the Los Angeles City Council took a critical vote to support a motion introduced by Councilmembers Nithya Raman, Mike Bonin, and Marqueece Harris-Dawson to establish the the Livable Communities Initiative (LCI) as part of the City's 2021-2029 Housing Element. The legislation directs City departments to report back on strategies that will facilitate well-designed mid-scale development along suitable transit-rich corridors; promote the creation of housing units where they do not currently exist; ensure that qualifying projects invest in community amenities and infrastructure; and introduce financial and regulatory tools to help fund public improvement projects along identified corridors.
Los Angeles is facing an acute housing, climate, mobility, and affordability crisis, making it difficult to build much-needed affordable housing due to speculative land prices and complex development regulations. The LCI will develop strategies to meet these challenges by utilizing innovative land use approaches to create mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods across Los Angeles near jobs and transit. The legislation further directs departments to put together meaningful community- and data-driven processes that can help identify suitable transit-rich corridors and objective administrative development and zoning standards to achieve these goals.
“The Livable Communities Initiative is a sustainable, comprehensive, and equitable plan that will incentivize the City to build critically needed housing, including affordable units, along appropriate transit-rich corridors while also investing in public infrastructure improvements,” said Councilmember Nithya Raman. “I’m excited to continue working with the dedicated advocates whose persistence got us here today to move this vision forward.”
“The Livable Communities Initiative is the way forward for Los Angeles to right the wrongs of decades of exclusionary housing laws, which have made our communities inequitable, our commutes intolerable, and our neighborhoods unaffordable—especially on the Westside,” said Councilmember Mike Bonin, Chair of the City Council's Transportation Committee. “I am so inspired by the grassroots energy fighting for this inclusive vision of safe and livable neighborhoods and proud to have worked with them to move this legislation forward.”
Councilmember Harris-Dawson stated, “Our City government must meet the needs of this moment, and Los Angeles needs solutions to our current housing shortage. The Livable Communities Initiative has the potential to expand housing development and, most importantly, incorporate inclusionary housing requirements. I am glad that we, as a Council, have approved a solution-oriented strategy, and I look forward to the equitable implementation of this policy.”
"We are incredibly grateful to the City Council and so many Angelenos for supporting this vision to create walkable communities near transit that provide a more livable, affordable, safe and sustainable option for less car-dependent lives,” said Livable Communities Initiative Co-Founder Lindsay Sturman. “We hope this plan will address housing, climate, traffic, and street safety all at once.”
“For too long, Los Angeles has failed to build homes that are affordable for our essential workers – our bus drivers, nurses, restaurant workers, those who take care of our children – people who are the engine of our city,” said Ed Mendoza, policy director of the Livable Communities Initiative. “I believe the LCI will help make Los Angeles more inclusive, equitable and inviting for everyone.”
LCI is included as Program 131 of the City’s recently adopted 2021-2029 Housing Element, a state-mandated plan to show sufficient zoned capacity for housing that also outlines strategies for housing production, affirmatively furthering fair housing, and creating mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods across Los Angeles near jobs and transit. The current Housing Element cycle designated a record target of 456,643 new units for the City of Los Angeles, which the City must accommodate by 2029.
###