Big Wins for Community!
Dear friends and allies,
Last Thursday was a big win for the Central City United (CCU) Coalition, the communities of Skid Row, Little Tokyo and Chinatown, and all other communities of color, immigrants, lower-income, and houseless members of Downtown! We want to collectively express an enthusiastic and heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who have supported our efforts on the Downtown Community Plan (DTLA2040) at Thursday’s City Planning Commission and in so many other ways over the last several years. We had an incredible turnout of public commenters in support of deeply affordable housing, meaningful and robust community benefits, enhanced tenant protections, and racially equitable and just planning policy.
The City Planning Commission really took to heart the testimony provided by community members, and unanimously approved a plan that includes many of our recommendations! In case you weren’t able to stay for the end of the 8-hour meeting, here’s a summary of our wins:
Central City United DTLA2040 Wins!
Includes an intentionally calibrated value capture program that prioritizes affordable housing in exchange for developer incentives (shout out to ACT-LA and everyone who worked on Measure JJJ and the TOC Program - the program in DTLA2040 builds off of this success!).
Includes a new affordability category: Deeply Low-Income, covering residents with annual incomes under $16,900. This is the 1st time in the City (and possibly, in the Country) that there is focused attention on residents at highest risk of homelessness!
Removal of any development incentive for the inclusion of housing affordable to households making above $115,900 (Above Moderate-Income).
Includes a Racial Impact Analysis within the plan. This is the 1st ever City of LA Community Plan to include a racial impact analysis!
Expands the term of affordability covenants for new mixed-income housing projects from 55 to 99 years.
Ensures 1-to-1 replacement of low-income rent stabilized units. If the income of a previous tenant is not known, the assumption will be that it's a low-income unit and needs replacement.
Secures an area in Skid Row (IX1 zone) that allows only affordable housing to be developed, and ensures no hotels can be built there.
Establishes a Community Benefits Program, with corresponding Fund, for affordable housing and also a range of other community-identified benefits such as community-serving small business support, publicly accessible open space, community facilities, etc.
Requires that community members with lived experience serve on the Community Benefits Committee and that they receive compensation and training.
Ensures that small businesses eligible for benefits are truly community-serving mom-and-pop shops.
Sets inclusive standards for publicly accessible open space, ensuring these spaces are planned for all users, including low-income families, seniors, and the unhoused.
Requires an additional study to make sure that adaptive reuse in Downtown will include affordable housing requirements.
The next step in the approval of DTLA2040 is the City Council Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee – currently made up of Councilmembers Harris-Dawson (Chair), Cedillo (Vice-Chair), Blumenfield, Ridley-Thomas, and Lee. We know we still have more work ahead to ensure we maintain these wins at PLUM and full City Council – stay tuned for updates on future public hearings and opportunities to join in our advocacy. It is critical that we continue to show up strong and speak with a unified voice to get this plan over the finish line.
Please continue to follow us on Twitter at @CCUPeoplesPlan. Thank you again!