Fitting Everyone In: A Series on L.A.'s Housing Crisis

Fri Feb 16, 2007

The cost and scarcity of housing has transcended the realm of problems and, by many accounts, reached the level of crisis in Los Angeles. To explore this issue--its manifestations, impacts, and solutions--the Westside Urban Forum presents a two-part series of breakfast events, beginning Friday, February 16.

Part I, Creative Destruction?: Condo Conversion and the Plight of the Rental Class

No matter how high rental prices rise, the construction of new rental units does not seem to match the demand--especially on the Westside. In fact, new condominiums often emerge from the dust of rental apartments and their displaced occupants, whose numbers decline as new owners move in to more expensive stock and, potentially, change the demographics of neighborhoods.

Among the myriad proposals aimed at solving the housing crisis, a moratorium on condo conversions has been making progress through the L.A. City Council. Proponents of the ordinance would limit the demolition or conversion of rental stock in order to protect renters in a city with one of the highest rental rates in the country. But would such an ordinance preserve neighborhood ethnic and socioeconomic diversity while allowing for population growth? Or, would it hamper development and freeze the middle class out of home ownership? While the City Council deliberates, the Westside Urban Forum debates!


The Westside Urban Forum is pleased to welcome a panel of experts representing a range of views to discuss the potential effects of such an ordinance on LA housing and on the people who live in it.

Panelists
Hon. Ed Reyes
L.A. City Councilmember
Carol Schatz
President & CEO, Central City Assn.
Beth Steckler
Policy Director, Livable Places

Moderator
David Abel
Publisher, The Planning Report
Chair, New Schools Better Neighborhoods

And please look forward to Part II on Friday, March 16: Yes in My Backyard: Inclusionary Zoning and Other Solutions