The Tragic, Misguided Decision to Build Permanent Housing Primarily
The city has been making the mistake of thinking it has to build permanent housing on land the city owns for nearly all of our Proposition HHH $1.2 billion. It is dramatically less expensive to rent bare land to support pre-made, modular style housing. Literally thousands of people have died on our streets because we spent a billion dollars on permanent housing that takes three or more years to build.
How is this plan different?
What is unique in House LA 2021 is that it takes advantage of the very cheap value of undeveloped land. Land is expensive to buy. Existing housing is expensive to rent. But it is cheap to rent land that is empty, ready for hookup to electricity, water, and sewer while we import our pre-fabricated complex for eight or more people for 18 months lease or more. No other plan banks on that.
By creating a marketplace for temporarily unused land, where developers and landowners receive income and insurance coverage in return for housing the homeless, we create a buffer for developers that reduces the risk and expense of construction. This will broadly affect the real estate economy as a minor force within the city to reduce prices and increase housing supply. Unfortunately the City's building of permanent supportive housing has the opposite effect. When we buy land and purchase contractor labor to construct, that increases demand and diminishes supply of real estate and contractors, raising prices for all.
What happens when the lease is up?
Some lots will be developed and that is ok because not far away another building will have burned, been condemned, or been slated for redevelopment. L.A. is dynamic and so will always have an ample supply of empty lots. Developing land takes a long time from design to permit to groundbreaking. This is how we use our resources effectively to benefit all people. Portable modular housing, once built, can be transferred to other lots after the first lease is up. People have a guarantee of a year or more in a location and, if they must move, need not move more than a mile away.
Specific City Actions
Work with City, County, and State officials to identify plots of land suitable for supporting portable housing for 18 months or more. The City and County have an especially close and important potential cooperative role to play, see for example the large, nearly empty Terminal 25 on this site.
Insurance
Structure an insurance plan to cover all landowners who contract with the city for placing homeless. One plan covers all contracts with private landowners, freeing landowners of all liabilities associated with their property while it is being used by the City.
Placing Unhoused People
Because the unhoused population is very diverse, we must provide for both the highest needs people but also for those who are transitioning to greater independence. Low needs and low risk people have more options in this plan to self-group with a partner or even with a set of people up to eight on one site, encouraging and preserving supportive relationships. A screening process for all unhoused people assessing both needs and risks to others is needed before placing into residential areas or near schools.
Non-permanent housing regulations with streamlined approval process
Non-permanent housing for the unhoused requires a separate set of regulations to approve certificates of occupancy to reduce the time and cost for approval. We need a:
Streamlined process for hooking up sewer, electricity, and water
Vector nuisance prevention and monitoring program such as for mosquitos and rats
Set of rules for infrastructure safety: site selection, initial set up, leveling, foundation requirements
Waiver from LID requirements, separate rules