By Maria Patino-Gutierrez, Deputy Director of Policy and Advocacy

May 28, 2026

***Send this one click email to City Council offices, asking them to prioritize Exhibit 2B and anything to deepen affordability levels.

California legislators passed SB 79, the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, in 2025. SB 79 is intended to make it easier for developers to build mixed-income apartments near public transit in areas that are “high-resource,” meaning neighborhoods that have good schools, jobs, and amenities. The law will go into effect on July 1, 2026.

Right now, the Los Angeles City Council is determining how to implement SB 79 locally, through the Phased Implementation and Low-Rise Ordinances. By phasing in SB 79 gradually, the city can prioritize where new development goes first as well as ensure it doesn’t get built in places with fire or flood dangers. And the Low-Rise Ordinance will allow smaller multifamily developments to be built in single-family zones, something we desperately need to do if we are going to meaningfully increase our housing supply.

Unfortunately, however, the current draft of the Low Rise Ordinance does not include incentives for housing that is affordable to the city’s lowest income families. Projects that qualify for the ordinance under the L-1 program include only one moderate-income unit. Rent for a two-bedroom moderate-income unit is nearly $2,500 per month—unaffordable to most of the city’s renters. Projects using the LR-2 program must include two moderate-income units or one low-income unit, but have no requirement units affordable for very-low, extremely-low, or acutely-low-income households.

The Los Angeles City Planning Department has already flagged this as a problem. They sent a report to the City Planning Commission in May (Exhibit 2B) that recommends incorporating deeper incentives for affordability into the Low-Rise Ordinance. Their report also outlines a bonus for deeper affordability, including units at the Extremely Low Income (ELI) level and Very Low Income (VLI) that are needed. For reference, a family of four with income up to $45,450 or $75,75000 will qualify for ELI or VLI housing, respectively. Meanwhile, the Low-Income and Moderate-Income housing is appropriate for families making up to $121,150 or $127,900, respectively.

If the Low-Rise Ordinance is going to help address the affordable housing crisis faced by the city’s lowest-income renters, City Council must incorporate the City Planning Department’s recommendation. We urge council to approve the Phased Implementation Ordinance and Low-Rise Ordinance incorporating Exhibit 2B to ensure SB 79 implementation yields equitable and affordable new housing. These ordinances must be adopted urgently before July 1 to remain eligible for careful local implementation.

***Send this one click email to City Council offices, asking them to prioritize Exhibit 2B and anything to deepen affordability levels.