Section 64701 - Legislative findings and declarations The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Los Angeles County is facing the most significant housing crisis in the region's history, as tens of thousands of residents are living in overcrowded housing, being pushed out of their homes, spending hours driving every day to and from work, one paycheck away from an eviction, or experiencing homelessness.(b) The impacts of Los Angeles County's affordable housing crisis are disproportionately being borne by people of color, including Black, Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, and low-income residents.(c) Women of color face an even greater burden due to systemic barriers, including wage discrimination, unsafe transit options, and lack of access to affordable childcare.(d) Los Angeles County faces this crisis because, as a region, it has failed to produce enough housing at all income levels, particularly at the lowest levels of affordability, preserve affordable housing, protect existing residents from displacement, and address the housing issue throughout the county in a comprehensive fashion.(e) Housing costs have dramatically outpaced wage growth. An average two-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles County requires a household income of forty-one dollars and ninety-six cents ($41.96) per hour.(f) The housing crisis in Los Angeles County is regional in nature and existing municipality-specific programming would benefit from a regional agency that could supplement the programming with additional supports and services, especially in the context of ambitious Regional Housing Needs Assessments goals - 341,000 affordable units in the sixth cycle, which the county as a whole is on track to produce 25,000.(g) Seventy-nine percent of extremely low income households in Los Angeles County are paying more than half of their income on housing costs compared to just 3 percent of moderate-income households.(h) However, the current process is anything but regional; instead each city and the county is each responsible for their own decisions around housing financing and renter protection programs.(i) Based on the most recent regional housing needs assessment cycle, Los Angeles County faces an annual gap of 39,375 units between what is being created and what is needed to achieve the sixth cycle affordable housing countywide goals.(j) A multistakeholder countywide agency is necessary to help address the affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles County by supplementing resources and technical assistance at a regional scale, including: (1) Generating new dedicated regional funding for critical capital and other supports for affordable housing developments across Los Angeles County to supplement, rather than supplant, existing funding.(2) Providing staff support to local jurisdictions that require capacity or technical assistance to expedite the preservation and production of housing.(3) Funding renter programs and services, such as emergency rental assistance and access to counsel.(4) Assembling parcels, acquiring land, and supporting community land trusts for the purpose of building affordable housing.(5) Monitoring and reporting on progress at a regional scale.Added by Stats 2022 ch 661 (SB 679),s 1, eff. 1/1/2023.