UP, UP and Away

Density. Manahatanization. High rises. Whichever word you use to describe it Los Angeles is in desperate need of taller buildings. The Los Angeles Metropolitan area has been at its physical limit for a while now and although the city is unable to build out it has not discouraged people from moving here. Now the only place to go is up.

This translates to density and in 2004 Senate Bill 1818 was passed to encourage density throughout the State of California by awarding extra density to developers who chose to build affordable units in their buildings. SB 1818 aimed at adding density and building affordable housing.

Each city was tasked with implementing SB 1818 to insure that it met each cities needs. Most cities took advantage of this and adopted implementing ordinances soon after SB 1818 passed. Los Angeles was not one of those cities.

The fight over implementing SB 1818 has been going on since the law was passed almost four years ago. Council members who live by the saying, “Not in My Back Yard” refused to implement the ordinance for fear that high rises would be built in their single family home neighborhoods and because they feared that the affordable unites incorporated into the buildings would not be truly affordable.

All of these reasons that Council members used to oppose SB 1818 are not only ill informed but they also fail to see past the need to please their constituents and realize a broader vision for the future of Los Angeles.

All cities have zoning requirements. Because of zoning there is very little possibility that a high rise will be built in the center of a single story home neighborhood. It is not a valid reason not to implement SB 1818, which is state law, because you do not want density in your own backyard.

Other Council members claim the need for affordable housing as a reason to deny SB 1818 which is more unwarranted than the “not in my backyard” members of the city council. In a few years the ordinance that mandates affordable housing will be timed out and there is very little hope that another will replace it.

It is understandable that City Council wants to make it possible for all Angelenos to live in the city but SB 1818 is not going to eliminate affordable housing. SB 1818 is going to ensure that there are at least a few affordable units in place when the buildings dedicated to affordable housing are torn down because they are no longer being subsidized.

Only looking at these small concerns is ensuring that Los Angeles will not be a viable place to live in the future. We are running out of places to put all of the people who choose to live here, and the lack of supply and high demand makes charging exorbitant amounts of money for rent in Los Angeles possible.

Density will add to the supply of housing in Los Angeles and in turn the increased supply will help to lower housing prices for the entire population. Density is not only something that would make living in Los Angeles more affordable it is the only solution to the housing crisis here. The city is bursting at its edges and if Los Angeles wants to continue growing it needs to make it possible to look toward the sky to do so.

SB 1818 was passed by City Council in February but now Councilmember Hahn is threatening to file a motion to petition to exempt Los Angeles from SB 1818. This would mean disaster for the Los Angeles region and its future. It is about time that the future is taken into consideration, not just the changing whims of a council district.

LA Weekly Anti-Density Article

SB 1818