California mayors throw their support behind housing bond

LOS ANGELES — A group of California mayors threw their support behind a $4 billion housing bond and a companion bill wending its way through the state legislature.

The delegation, led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, traveled to Sacramento to support the measures.

The Assembly and Senate leadership reached an agreement on the bills earlier this week -- but it still requires a two-thirds majority vote by both houses by Sept. 15. If lawmakers approve the housing bond bill, it would go to voters next year, where a majority vote would authorize the bonds.

Garcetti traveled to the State Capitol Wednesday to urge the passage of a legislative package that would fund the development of low-income and affordable housing, and ensure that housing construction meets growing demand across California.

He lobbied for the passage of Senate Bill 2, which would raise hundreds of millions of dollars each year for affordable housing; and Senate Bill 3, which would place a $4 billion general obligation bond on the 2018 ballot.

“The California Dream belongs to everyone who calls our state home — and hardworking families shouldn’t be priced out of their communities because we couldn’t get the affordability crisis under control,” said Garcetti. “This legislation will give us the resources we need to get affordable housing built more quickly and more equitably.”

The other mayors who trekked to the capitol included Kevin Faulconer of San Diego, Ed Lee of San Francisco, Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, Libby Schaaf of Oakland, Sam Liccardo of San Jose, and Miguel Pulido of Santa Ana.

Several of those mayors had joined Garcetti in signing an Aug. 21 letter to Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, advocating for the statewide affordable housing package.

Garcetti said he continues to aggressively address the affordability crisis in Los Angeles with his proposed Affordable Housing Linkage Fee, which would more than double the city’s production of affordable housing every year. The city is also tripling its production of permanent supportive housing for homeless Angelenos with Proposition HHH.

In April, Garcetti signed a law requiring that landlords who tear down rent-controlled units under the state’s Ellis Act either replace them one-for-one with affordable units or ensure that 20% of new units are affordable — whichever number is higher.

L.A. is on track to build 100,000 new units of housing by 2021, Garcetti said.