Draft Ordinance Based On Mayor Bass' ED 1 Clears Planning Commission

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission in a 5-1 vote last week approved a draft ordinance that would make permanent some streamlining measures for certain affordable housing projects. 

Called the Affordable Housing Streamlining Ordinance, the law is aimed at codifying elements of Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Directive 1, which sped up approval times for fully affordable projects. ED 1 has affected applications for 8,000 units of affordable and permanent supportive housing since it was announced in late 2022, Urbanize LA reported.

It isn't an exact replica of Bass' directive. One key difference is the ordinance excludes projects in single-family zones from tapping into the power of ED 1, something Bass’ order didn't explicitly prohibit. 

Only allowing these measures to take effect in areas already zoned for multifamily development fanned concerns that rent-stabilized and other de facto affordable units would be taken offline to make way for new affordable developments, the Daily News reported.

Along those lines, the lone dissenting voter, Commissioner Helen Leung, expressed concern that the ordinance didn't include adequate anti-displacement protections for residents in existing buildings, according to Urbanize.

Organizations like Abundant Housing that broadly support adding housing stock also favored including single-family zones in the ordinance, Urbanize reported.  

The draft ordinance still requires the approval of the full city council. 

Earlier this month, Bass introduced Executive Directive 7, a broader directive that seeks to speed up approvals for all types of housing, including for-sale homes.