California’s density bonus law lets developers skirt some zoning regulations to build multifamily housing.
A Los Angeles developer is frustrating residents by identifying single-family lots where the law allows for building multi-family housing, buying up the properties, and redeveloping them into apartment buildings, reports Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times. Housing advocates might hail this as a win for affordable housing, while preservationists and neighborhood groups argue Akhilesh Jha’s relentless pursuit of new projects is destroying historic neighborhoods and using legal loopholes for personal profit.
“While Jha’s ideas are far out of scale with nearby properties, he’s also not plopping the buildings in the middle of subdivisions. The projects are all within about half a mile of a major freeway with other multifamily housing and businesses nearby,” Dillon adds. Jha has won approval for his projects largely because the law, in many cases, favors housing production.
Jha uses California’s density bonus law, which “allows developers to build more dense housing on a lot in exchange for dedicating some of the units for low-income families,” to bypass many zoning codes and building regulations such as height limits and parking requirements. Jha also filed an application using the ‘builder’s remedy’ in the brief weeks when Los Angeles was eligible for such projects.
With only 10 percent or less of the units slated for low-income households, critics argue that Jha is disingenuously using “the most aggressive interpretation of state regulations” to build outsized projects that will strain local resources and bring down property values.
FULL STORY: This L.A. developer aims to tear down homes to build apartments where the city doesn’t want them
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.