If you read the L.A. Times, you know that our homelessness issue is growing. It rose 12% from this same time last year. This is in spite of all propositions that we voted on to tax ourselves to stop it. This is in spite of it being the #1 issue that Los Angeles currently faces. I wrote the following to the L.A. Times today about my idea for a solution.
Dear L.A. Times editors: This solution to much of L.A.’s homeless problem will seem
counter-intuitive: stop building. Stop
permitting smaller, older rental units from being torn down for up-zoned, expensive mid-rise condos. Subsidize the
owners and landlords of the pre-1970 apartment buildings, bungalow courts and
tenant hotels so they can afford to keep these units affordable to lower-income
people. Otherwise, these smaller landlords will lose income if they don’t sell
to developers.
Yes, some of the chronic homeless will still be on the
street. But a lot of non-chronic
homeless will be able to afford roofs over their heads (these older, smaller
units are where many lived in the first place).
And, this solution will be cheaper for the city/county than building
units at $500,000 a pop.
For those who say we must build the high-density city of the
future, (HDIMBYs?) I say let’s solve the issues we have before we plan for the
future that a lot of L.A. residents may never see.
By the way, I am a real estate broker who has everything to
gain by having more expensive inventory to sell. But I’m also an L.A. citizen who lives among
this growing, tragic homelessness problem.
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