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In Los Angeles, city council members had the power to block funding for homeless and affordable housing projects by refusing to issue a required letter.
Critics have sued the city about it, denouncing the rule as an unfair and arbitrary "pocket veto".
Now, the city must get rid of this requirement – or end up losing public funding for housing projects.
Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill on Thursday to prevent public money or tax credits from being granted to any real estate project requiring a "letter of recognition" from a local official. The bill was drafted by MP David Chiu (D-San Francisco), who said "our homelessness crisis is too severe to deny proven solutions".
"Local elected officials will continue to make an important contribution to the planning process, but they will not have a pocket veto to refuse supportive housing projects if needed," Chiu said in a statement.
Chiu proposed his bill after The Times reported on L.A.'s requirements earlier this year.
Under the City of Los Angeles By-Laws, property developers looking for funding for affordable or homeless housing projects must obtain a "letter of recognition" from the council member representing the area they wish to build. This rule is in effect for the HHH proposal, the $ 1.2 billion homeless shelter bond voted by electors and follows the same requirements for other affordable housing funds.
Board members argued that requiring the letter ensures real estate developers contact them early in the development process, giving them an opportunity to raise neighborhood concerns and strengthen community support for projects. .
Councilor Gil Cedillo, who heads a housing-focused board committee, described the new law as "a problem-solving solution."
"The Council's offices do not stand in the way of building permanent supportive housing," Cedillo said in a statement Thursday. "What you need to know is how to convince people at NIMBY who do not want this type of housing in their community."
The Times combined e-mails and other public documents to find that council members had refused the "letter of recognition" in at least three recent cases, thwarting potential projects in the southern states, Sun Valley and Westlake.
In some cases, board members used the letter as leverage to get developers to change their plans. Cedillo pointed out that many more projects were approved than rejected.
Non-profit organizations that help poor and homeless people have complained that the rule allows politicians to block projects without standards or public agreement.
The California Alliance for Community Empowerment has sued the city over this requirement, calling it "an illegal, unnecessary, arbitrary and discriminatory barrier to affordable housing and support."
Counsel for the Public Counsel, who helped represent the community group that sued L.A. about the rule, said they welcomed the new law. But the staff's attorney, Faizah Malik, pointed out that state law would not automatically eliminate the disputed requirement and that the city should take steps to eliminate it if she wanted to benefit from the state money.
For the time being, "it has not removed it, it has not removed other processes allowing veto space, and it has not taken steps to remedy the damage caused by this illegal policy," writes Malik. "We will continue to advocate to solve these problems."
On Thursday, LA officials did not immediately respond to the new law, which will come into force in January.
Los Angeles Housing Department Chief Rushmore Cervantes said this week that if Brown signed the law, his staff would work with Mayor Eric Garcetti and the council to develop policies in line with national regulations.
Garcetti spokeswoman Anna Bahr said the mayor "would not support any policy that would prevent state resources from funding much needed affordable housing projects," but it would be up to council members to decide
Cedillo said Thursday that he did not want to remove it, but would take that step if necessary to retain state funding for housing.
Twitter: @AlpertReyes
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