Affordable housing measure added to November ballot
It’s up to voters to decide how Santa Monica will fund new affordable housing developments.
The City Council on Tuesday voted to put a question on the November ballot that would ask voters to allow all taxes collected on apartments converted to condominiums be used to fund affordable housing projects.
The city has about $8 million earmarked for low-interest loans as an incentive for home ownership. However, demand for the loans has been very low and few have been administered, city officials said.
The city wants to redistribute the money to build new affordable, rental housing. But residents must vote to change the city’s charter to access the funds, which were collected under Tenant Ownership Rights Charter Amendment — also known as TORCA — which expired in 1996.
Of the roughly $20 million collected under the tax — which called for a one-time fee equal to 12 times the maximum rent allowable under law — half went towards buying a mobile home park, building low-income housing and administrative costs. The administrative costs alone reportedly exceed $1 million.
About $2 million has been used for home loans, but the remaining $8 million that would have gone into the home ownership program would be made available for building more affordable housing.
The city could still use some of the funds for low-interest loans, but they would no longer be required to do so, city officials said.
Critics said the city’s loan program is so complex that it prohibits people from applying for the loans. They said the loan program is one of the few remaining ways that Santa Monica promotes home ownership.
“That money was supposed to be used for home ownership incentives,” said Peter Tigler, president of the Pico Neighborhood Association, who has advocated for more home ownership incentives. “Their own system is so convoluted and burdensome to get through — that’s why the money is still there.
“They should be amending the rules to make it easier to use that money as it was meant to be used,” he added. “They should have a program to advertise its existence and promote its use.”
Paul DeSantis, a local real estate attorney who chairs the board of Community Corp. of Santa Monica — the largest provider of affordable housing in the city — advocated the city continue with its incentives for home ownership.
“Over the years I have worked on many different funding mechanisms for affordable housing,” he said. “This isn’t something we should be doing.”
DeSantis said the city’s loan program was designed to fail to make way for new affordable housing.
“Although few loans are being made, plenty of funds are available,” he said, encouraging the city council to make the loan process easier. “There are so many better ways of dealing with the unexpended funds, that I am opposed to breaking down this program.”
But supporters said the greatest need should be addressed first, and home ownership is lower on the list.
“I think the most pressing housing need in the city is in the area of affordable housing, and that’s where this money should be used,” said Councilman Ken Genser.
“I think the most pressing housing need in the city is in the area of affordable housing, and that’s where this money should be used” — —KEN GENSER Santa Monica Councilman
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 16, 2002. Read the original PDF.