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View Winners → Politics Jan 18, 2023
| Photo courtesy of the California Department of Housing and Community Development
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The City Council passed a series of recommendations Wednesday seeking to ensure that equity is at the core of land use decisions and in implementing Los Angeles’ housing element.
The council voted to affirm that the 2021-29 housing element — which requires cities to submit plans to build a certain number of housing units per the state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment — would focus the majority of capacity in so-called “higher opportunity” areas.
It also affirmed protecting communities vulnerable to displacement and strengthening tenant protections, as well as promoting housing near jobs and transit and away from environmental hazards.
Another instruction sought an assessment on how the city’s Housing Element Rezoning Program will incorporate recommendations for stronger guard rails against displacement and address historically discriminatory land use patterns. It called for a “thorough and meaningful public outreach and engagement process,” in particular to marginalized and historically underserved and disadvantaged communities.
The council also instructed the city’s planning department to report to the council’s Planning and Land Use committee every 120 days on how it is incorporating equity into rezoning plans.