California has a lot of land. Like, 100 million acres worth. Not surprisingly, nearly half, are used for agriculture, while development has sprawled across acreage from Encinitas to Tahoe. However, with faith-based organizations holding a significant chunk of underdeveloped land, political officials on both the state and local level are hoping to repurpose those holdings into housing.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted to create its own ordinance to accompany the state-wide Senate Bill 4 to push local affordable housing builds. The local ordinance, initiated by Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, could strip away some restrictions contained in SB 4, including requirements for site ownership on or before January 1, 2024, and provide tailored incentive programs for lower and higher density zoned sites.
According to Urbanize, the city ordinance may allow for up to 20 percent of homes to be unrestricted by income, which could allow developments to house members of the religious institutions which own the land.
The Terner Center for Housing Innovation found that across California, there are over 47,019 acres of potentially developable land owned by FBOs. In L.A., there are potentially 4,339 acres of developable land.
The Planning Department estimates that 76 percent of sites owned by faith-based institutions citywide may be eligible for redevelopment under SB 4. Citywide, the total number of potentially eligible sites numbers in the thousands.
Be the first one to reply
Your Reply