HOUSING

REgional Early Action Planning (2019)

In FY 19-20, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) authorized $47 million to SCAG under the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) grant program. The SCAG Regional Council authorized up to $23 million to be allocated to the Subregional Partnership Program to fund subregional planning activities that will accelerate housing production and facilitate compliance in implementing the 6th Cycle of Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The funding amount available for the WSCCOG as a subregional partner was $340,000, which is based on the final 6th Cycle of RHNA allocation. Below are the following projects that are funded by the 2019 REAP program.

Project #1: Westside Development Constraints Cost and Land Use Regulation Policy Actions

Organization/Consultant: ARUP, Raimi & Associates, and Veronica Tam

Timeline: December 2021 – June 2023

Description: The Westside subregion is known for its high rents and unaffordability, construction costs, and land value. To improve affordability and housing access in the subregion, the WSCCOG seeks to address barriers to housing development, increase housing in jobs and transit-rich areas, and support the acceleration of affordable housing units. The objective of this project is to assist cities in understanding and addressing barriers to housing production in the Westside subregion. The consultant team is currently providing on-call technical assistance to the Westside cities in drafting new or amending existing ordinances related to accelerating housing production.

The consultant team has completed the following reports as of June 2022. For a presentation summary of the key findings, click here.

  • Comprehensive Development Costs Database – Compares the cost for land acquisition, entitlement/permitting, soft costs/holding costs, and cost of construction under existing land use and development regulations.

  • Development Constraints Analysis – This analysis identifies the development and administrative constraints on housing production in the Westside subregion. The study also includes specific policy actions and the feasibility of each of the key actions for the individual cities to consider adopting to eliminate or address the identified development constraints. To access the final memo, click here.

  • Housing Production Policy Best Practices - This report includes best practices recommendations of policies from cities across the country that are leading in accelerating housing production. To access the final memo, click here.

Project #2: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Framework and Action

Organization/Consultant: WSCCOG Staff

Timeline: July 2022 - December 2022

Description: AB 686 (Santiago) mandates all public agencies to administer programs to address fair housing barriers and address the compliance requirements to the law in the housing elements. This report will provide an assessment of fair housing in the Westside subregion and develop subregional framework and strategies for the Westside cities to implement its fair housing goals in their Housing Elements. The framework would result in the adoption policy and/or program development that address racial discrimination, residential segregation, and social inequities from historic redlining and exclusionary zoning policies. This study will also identify for the Westside subregion a set of action-oriented strategies in the subregion to ensure housing access, reduce the housing cost burden, increase the supply of affordable housing, increase opportunities for homeownership.

Project #3: Create a Westside Subregional Affordable Housing Funding Program

Organization/Consultant: ECONorthwest

Timeline: May 2022 - June 2023

Description: This study explores innovative funding strategies and programs as a framework to form a potential Westside Subregional Affordable Housing Funding Program to establish a dedicated and ongoing revenue to accelerate housing production. Local jurisdictions general funds are impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the region is seeking alternative strategies to fund the development of housing. The proposed program would fund activities that support housing development such as acquisition and rehab. The program would also help leverage for state/federal funds, establish low-cost loans for construction and development, and more. The consultant will evaluate regional and/or jurisdictional strategies including a housing land trust, tax increment financing tools (e.g., Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, Community Revitalization and Investment Act, etc.), housing land bank, local linkage fees, and more. 

The current deliverables underway include the following:

  • Housing Funding Matrix – A matrix of existing funding sources related to housing development from the Westside cities, county, state, and federal government and identify funding gaps that could be filled by a proposed subregional funding program. This includes examining existing funding programs from the cities to acquire land, rehabilitate existing properties, and secure low-interest construction loans for housing production, and other housing-related programs

  • Housing Financing Mechanism Analysis – The analysis includes various financing mechanisms that a city and/or the subregion can implement for various activities including acquisition and rehab, low-interest construction loans for housing production, and other housing-related programs. Funding mechanisms may include subregional housing trust, public land bank, tax increment financing, sales tax revenue, and more. The analysis will describe each funding mechanism and/or strategy, including the pros, cons, best practices and/or case studies. 

  • Subregional Housing Program Feasibility Analysis and Recommended Strategy - The consultant will establish a framework to compare each of these various funding and identify the feasibility of these subregional funding mechanisms for the WSCCOG to consider in a subregional funding program. To access the final memo, click here.

Updated October 9, 2023