Two Portantino Affordable Housing Bills Pass Senate Housing Committee
For Immediate Release: April 27, 2022
Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400
Two Portantino Affordable Housing Bills Pass Senate Housing Committee
Sacramento, CA - Senate Bill 1177, introduced by State Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) which seeks to create an affordable housing regional trust between the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena and SB 1067, which restricts parking minimums in cities, passed the Senate Housing Committee today.
“A long-term regional approach is critical to addressing California’s affordable housing crisis - which is why SB 1177 is so important. It provides a framework for Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena to collaborate on the production of desperately needed affordable housing,” stated Senator Portantino. “I’m proud to represent these three great cities that initiated this creative solution to help solve our regional housing needs.”
The high cost of housing and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have had a significant impact on lower income households, with rents and home prices having far outpaced wage growth. Collectively, the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena have nearly 3,000 affordable housing units in the combined development pipeline, including permanent supportive housing, senior housing, workforce housing, and affordable home ownership units. However, they are unable to bring their backlog of affordable housing projects to completion due to insufficient local funding. This situation has dramatically affected the city’s ability to meet all of their affordable housing needs.
“Pasadena supports Senator Portantino’s introduction of SB 1177 to create the Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena Regional Housing Trust Fund,” stated Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo. “Addressing housing affordability is an important issue that requires a regional approach. Working together with our neighbors in the tri-city area, as well as with those in the greater San Gabriel Valley, is absolutely the correct strategy. A new housing trust fund will help us bring much needed affordable housing, and especially critically needed permanent supportive housing, to Pasadena and the surrounding region.”
SB 1177 will create of a regional housing trust fund that would be administered by a joint powers authority (JPA) comprised of the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena. If created, the JPA would be allowed to request and receive private and state funding allocations, as well as authorize and issue bonds, to help finance affordable housing projects for persons and families of extremely low-, very low-, low-, and moderate-income households.
“SB 1177, the proposed Burbank Glendale Pasadena Regional Housing Trust, is not going to solve the housing crisis in the tri-city region; a region with major employers, excellent transportation hubs, and a long history of working collaboratively together. However, it will be a critical financing tool for projects that are stalled for lack of funding in our partner cities of Glendale and Pasadena, and to help fund those opportunity sites in Burbank adjacent to transportation, employment, and within walking distance to Downtown Burbank,” stated Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes.
“The City of Glendale is excited that SB 1177 has passed another Senate Committee hearing with such strong support,” stated Glendale Mayor Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian. “We thank Senator Portantino for initiating this worthwhile endeavor to address our statewide housing crisis in a manner that provides cities with resources that are so badly needed. We are confident that the tri-cities will work together to bring quality, affordable housing to our region.”
The cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena are members of the Arroyo Verdugo Sub-Region and have worked collaboratively in the past, sharing the goal of cooperatively addressing regional priorities and matters of mutual interest. They each operate their own housing authority, and both Glendale and Pasadena are two of the three cities in the state that have their own homeless continuum of care.
SB 1067, which also passed the Senate Housing Committee today, addresses minimum parking requirements. Parking minimums require private property owners to provide and maintain a certain number of off-street parking spaces, which impose significant financial, environmental, and social costs to cities. SB 1067 puts a premium on affordability while prohibiting a city from imposing minimum parking requirement on a housing development project that is located within half a mile of public transit and meet certain criteria.
Specifically, a project must either dedicate 20% of their units to low-income to moderate income households, the elderly, students or persons with disabilities; or the developer must be able to demonstrate that the development would not have a negative impact on housing needs or existing parking.
“Last year, I was challenged to provide a sensible path toward the relaxation of parking minimums. I took the challenge seriously and crafted a bill that eliminates parking minimums close to public transit, lessens California’s dependence on cars, should encourage bicycling and walking while increasing our stock of affordable and workforce housing,” stated Senator Portantino. “While California needs housing across the financial spectrum, it needs to prioritize affordable and workforce housing. I have committed to collaborate with market rate housing supporters, local governments and civil rights groups in an effort to hit the sweet spot on this important public policy. With SB 1067, we are working toward that goal.”
###
