State takes aim at L.A. policy on homeless housing

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers took aim at how the city of Los Angeles approves homeless housing projects Wednesday night.

Legislators passed Assembly Bill 829, which tries to stop L.A.’s practice of allowing City Council members to quietly block homeless housing developments in their districts before a formal vote can take place.

“We cannot allow one local elected official to unilaterally stop projects that will house people and address our homelessness crisis,” Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), the bill’s author, said in a statement. “Local elected officials will continue to have significant input in the planning process, but they will not have a pocket veto to deny supportive housing projects.”

AB 829 was inspired by Los Angeles Times coverage this year of city rules that require council members to provide a “letter of acknowledgment” if a homeless project in their district wants to tap funding from Proposition HHH, a $1.2-billion housing bond.

If projects don’t receive a letter, they can be stopped before reaching the full City Council for approval. The Times found at least two projects in Los Angeles that didn’t move forward because they lacked a letter. Council members have defended the practice as allowing them to shape development in their communities.

Under AB 829, Los Angeles and other cities that have similar policies couldn’t receive state dollars for subsidized housing projects that would need a letter from a council member to go forward. The bill needs Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature to become law.