Councilmember Paul Koretz's Council District 5 Newsletter

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Dear Friends,

SB 50, the California State Bill that was falsely packaged as an affordable housing solution, was defeated on the Senate floor for the third and final time.  Not only would the bill have threatened to decimate every single family neighborhood in the City, it would have actually exacerbated our affordable housing problem by incentivizing luxury housing in Los Angeles.  Not only would it have overridden local zoning but the bill's language proscribed that Historic Preservation Zone designated after 2010 could have been overridden.  The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to oppose SB 50 in April 2019, and on this past Wednesday, I introduced a Resolution to re-affirm the City’s opposition to the bill even in its recently amended form.  

In the end, almost all of the Senators in and around the Los Angeles County area saw through the bill and voted it down. The reality is that the path to fix our affordable housing problem is not by building new luxury housing but to address and fix Costa Hawkins, the state law at the heart of our housing crisis, which makes rent-controlled units unaffordable.   

My office is also looking to address the problem of the large numbers of Wall Street-backed landlords that have thousands of newly built units they are leaving vacant to bring up land value, intentionally contributing to the housing shortage.  

Thank you to everyone who worked with our office to oppose this legislation.  The finally vote tally revealed that most of the California State Senators in and around Los Angeles voted to oppose the bill.  But we must remain vigilant.  The bill's author has already declared an intention to introduce similar legislation in the near future.  

Sincerely,
Paul Koretz

IN THE NEWS

LA Times Letters: SB 50 would create a city of unaffordable housing in luxury high-rises

Curbed LA To save potential landmarks, LA wants more notice of demolitions

City News: L.A. City Councilman Seeks Support in Opposing State Housing Bill