Low Income Housing

Like millions of Chinese priced out of this nation's booming housing market, Lao Yang could only dream of owning an apartment. Crammed into a run-down rental courtyard home about the size of a typical U.S. bedroom, Yang and his wife increasingly were ashamed of raising their daughter in a neighborhood with communal bathrooms and charcoal heating. Desperate for a bigger place, the retired steelworker applied to buy affordable housing from the local government. He wasn't optimistic.

Apartment developers may soon be required to dedicate up to 50% of their projects to low-income housing. The City Council directed the city staff to study a proposal that would require developers to dedicate between 30% and 50% of their units to low-income tenants. Developers now have to dedicate 15% of their units to low-income level residents. If the proposed change takes effect, developers would retain the option of establishing the low-income portion of their housing at another location.

Ground-breaking ceremonies are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at 7292 Fountain Ave. for West Hollywood's first low-income housing development, a 28-unit complex that will undergo rehabilitation over the next five months. The project is the first for the nonprofit West Hollywood Community Housing Corp., established in 1986 to increase affordable housing in the city. Of the 28 units, 23 are already occupied, primarily by low-income residents.

The Santa Paula City Council has endorsed a proposal to build low-income housing in the city. In a 3-2 vote, the council agreed Monday to send a letter to the County Board of Supervisors supporting Cabrillo Economic Development Corp.'s application for a $200,000 grant, which would be used to help build 34 rental townhomes. Mayor John Melton and council members Laura Espinosa and Alfonso Urias supported the project, while council members Robin Sullivan and Don Johnson opposed the proposal.