$1B for housing

Angelenos hope for a future where working men and women can afford to rent or buy a home with the wages they earn. We hope for a future where housing rises next to jobs and commute times fall. We hope for a solution to the plight of the tens of thousands of people who have no home at all. The bond that advanced in council today is an investment in our hopes.

My colleagues voted unanimously today to instruct the City Attorney to prepare bond language for inclusion on the November 2006 ballot for a $1-billion housing bond. The bond would generate $100 million per year from 2007 through 2016, funds that could be used to help solve homelessness, build affordable workforce housing, and help first-time homebuyers. Passage of the bond would complement the strides that we've made together in turning around the housing crisis over the past five years, from passing and fully funding our $100-million Affordable Housing Trust Fund to streamlining our planning coded to accommodate new construction and conversions.

Details after the jump...


The bond would have minimum percentages of each year’s funds that would be spent on specific priorities:
• No less than 25% of the bond should be spent on creating affordable rental housing opportunities for extremely low income tenants, ranging from no income to 30% area median income (AMI), including the formerly homeless.
• No less than 25% of the bond should be spent on affordable rental housing opportunities for households at 60% or below or AMI
• No less than 10% of the bond should be spent on mixed-income developments providing affordable rental housing opportunities for individuals at 60% to 80% of AMI
• No less than 20% of the bond should be spent on first time homeownership assistance to households at or below 150% AMI. 15% of this 20% should be targeted to serve households at or below 80% of AMI, if feasible.

The bond would be repaid over a 20-year period by way of a tax assessment that would average $14.66 annually on each $100,000 of assessed property value.

The City Attorney will return with final language that must be approved by Council for placement on the November ballot by August 4th, 2006.