City Hall's "Affordable Housing" Bait And Switch: 15% Ordinance Repealed

City Hall's "Affordable Housing" Bait And Switch: 15% Ordinance Repealed By Walter Moore, Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, WalterMooreForMayor.com October 29, 2008 Villaraigosa and the City Council have just made it crystal clear that the term "affordable housing" is nothing but a bait-and-switch catch-phrase they use to dupe you into supporting programs to give your tax dollars to subsidize developers who contribute to their campaigns, and tonexempt their projects from the zoning laws that have protected our low-rise, low-density architecture for decades. Here's the latest example: On October 23, 2008, Villaraigosa signed into law Ordinance 180308, which the City Council passed on a 13-0 vote on October 15, 2008. This ordinance is remarkable because it repealed Municipal Code Section 12.39. That ordinance, in turn, had required developers who got various breaks from the City to make 15% of their units "affordable." Specifically, Section 12.39 had required developers to "make every reasonable effort to develop at least 6 per cent of the total number of units in the development at a cost which would allow them to be rented or sold as low-income dwelling units at the fair market value and at least an additional 9 per cent of the total number of units in the development at a cost which would allow them to be rented or sold as low or moderate income dwelling units at the fair market value." Villaraigosa and the City Council have now repealed that requirement altogether -- and to repeal it retroactively. The new ordinance specifically states: "Any and all Agreements for Development of Units for Lease or Sale ('15% Ordinance'), or such similar agreements, entered into pursuant to Section 12.39 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code are released and rescinded and are of no further force and effect." So all the developers who benefited from your tax money and other breaks no longer have to provide the public benefit they were supposed to deliver in return. They got the quid, but we're not getting the pro quo. We don't have a city of, for and by the people. We have a city of, for and by the developers. Their interests are fully represented at City Hall. Ours are not. And don't count on the local media to cover stories like this. With the exception of Doug McIntyre, Kevin James, Al Rantel and Terry Anderson, the local media provide the same kind of informative and balanced coverage on local politics that Tokyo Rose provided on World War II. If you want a Mayor who will protect your interests as taxpaying American citizens, and who will fight to protect your quality of life, I'm your man. Click here to contribute.