This Mandate Applies to New Leases or New Development Projects.
By Zach Armstrong
After the L.A. Board of Supervisors approved a revised policy, real estate developers will have to include more affordable housing units in their Marina del Rey projects.
While a previous proposal increased the amount of on-site affordable housing for up to 20%, the policy approved at its Oct. 17 meeting calls for 30% of residential units in newly-built and “rehabilitated projects” (revitalizations of structural systems that result in at least three tenants vacated for at least 15 days) to be set at below market rates. Two-thirds of which are reserved for very low-income households while the rest are for ones deemed either low- or moderate-income.
This mandate applies to new leases or new development projects. While it doesn’t apply to entities currently leasing land from L.A. County, current lessees seeking County approval of discretionary entitlements might have to comply.
According to Urbanize LA, the 30% rate is higher than those in Santa Monica where affordability requirements vary from 20 to 25% in its Downtown area, while it also exceeds inclusionary housing requirements of Downtown Community Plans ranging from 8 to 16% depending on income.
Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles County Development Authority will administer as much as $200,000 for costs related to the new policy, since it could start seeing less rent revenue as per market rate units now being converted into affordable ones.
