Propel L.A. has issued the following letter of support for AB 2162 (Chiu), encouraging development streamlining for supportive housing.
Dear Governor Brown:
Propel L.A., the 2016-2020 Strategic Plan for Economic Development of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), strongly supports Assembly Bill (AB) 2162, increasing the availability of desperately needed supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. We encourage and request your support of this bill as well.
There are over 52,000 people experiencing homelessness as of the last count in Los Angeles County, and it is widely recognized this has become a rapidly growing crisis for both Los Angeles and the state. It is a well-known fact that minimizing the permitting and entitlement process within municipalities will help to curtail the often-long lead times developers face in constructing housing. Through AB 2162, zoning by-right will help reduce the timeframes within a city’s development approval process.
Additionally, the provision requiring supporting services with documentation to demonstrate that supportive services will be provided onsite to residents is critically important to helping homeless individuals overcome chronic homelessness. According to the Los Angeles County Homelessness Initiative, “supportive services are critical to effectively transitioning formerly homeless persons from being on the streets to becoming a thriving tenant and member of the community.”
All available resources, policies, and legislation are needed to address our region’s homelessness issue. Of the approximately 52,000 people experiencing homelessness in LA County, over 13,000 are chronically homeless with almost 500 of those being in a family unit (LA Homeless Services Authority, 2018). The combination of housing and on-site services is the ideal recipe for curtailing our state’s and our county’s homeless issue and the special problems plaguing the chronically homeless.
LA County has invested millions of dollars to address our homelessness crisis through Measure H, but without efforts to shorten the time to bring supportive housing developments online, those funds will have dramatically less positive impact.
With the rise in homelessness across the state coupled with the severe affordable housing shortage, the comprehensive solution presented in AB 2162 will be an effective tool to help address the challenge. For all of the above reasons, Propel L.A. strongly supports AB 2162 and we encourage you to sign this bill.
Sincerely,
Marianne Haver Hill
Executive Director, Propel L.A.
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