Traci Park’s Town Hall: Points of Clarification on ED1

If you missed it, there’s a recording of the 6/5 Town Hall zoom available here.

We appreciate Councilwoman Park’s clarification on several important points:

1. Mayor Bass’s Executive Directive 1 is a procedural change, not a zoning change. ED1’s primary purpose: it instructs the Planning Department to expedite the approval of 100% Affordable multi-unit building applications that comply with ED1 design requirements.
2. ED1 100% Affordable buildings are intended to deliver workforce housing—not housing for the homeless as asserted by some community members. Prospective 100% Affordable building residents must show income in order to qualify for the below-market-rate rents offered. (The Councilwoman cited the average salary of an LAUSD new teacher, which qualifies that teacher for affordable housing in LA.)
3. In Westchester-Playa, expect future multi-unit housing density to be concentrated along commercial corridors and in areas already zoned for multi-unit housing. Currently, R1 areas are not eligible for multi-unit building development beyond the addition of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
4. Location of an ED1 project is determined solely by market forces. ED1 projects are the result of private transactions based on land values in certain locations that allow a developer to “pencil out” building a 100% Affordable building. As the Councilwoman noted, In some cases Westchester offers lower land costs when compared to other areas within CD11.