Council votes to keep Bass' affordable housing plan

The mayor's directive streamlines projects. It's unclear how many have been built.

- BY JACK FLEMMING

MYUNG J. CHUN Los Angeles Times THE HOLMES development built by Habitat for Humanity and partners. Housing affordability is a longtime problem in Los Angeles.

During her first week in office three years ago, Mayor Karen Bass issued a sweeping directive to speed up affordable housing applications. Now, that plan is permanent.

The L.A. City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to adopt the Affordable Housing Streamlining Ordinance. Essentially, the ordinance takes Bass' housing initiative, known as Executive Directive 1, and incorporates it into the Municipal Code, so the streamlined process will stick around even after Bass leaves office.

Under the ordinance, developers get fast-tracked city approval for projects that include 100% affordable housing. Reviews for such projects typically take six to nine months, but under the directive, they're required to be approved within 60 days.

The expedited processing works by stripping away many of the discretionary review processes that typically bog down housing projects: City Council hearings, environmental reports, neighborhood outreach meetings, etc. As long as projects comply with certain criteria, including zoning and design review standards, they qualify for streamlined approval.