REVISED
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 17, 2022
Preamble
Motion by:
DIRECTORS HAHN, NAJARIAN, DUTRA, SANDOVAL, AND BUTTS
Land Bank Pilot Program
Los Angeles County is in the midst of a historic housing crisis, with tens of thousands of people migrating out every year, in search of more affordable places to live. At the same time, efforts to improve the Los Angeles River, as well as efforts to build new high-quality transit, have raised concerns among many that these changes could price many lower-income people out of what few affordable communities remain.
One effort underway to address the region’s housing crisis is the creation of a new LA County Land Bank Pilot Program, which was authorized by the LA County Board of Supervisors in June 2022. The program has already been allocated $40 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, which will go toward the acquisition of land and support the construction of affordable housing in communities where it is needed most.
In an effort to coordinate Metro resources with LA County, in June 2022, the Metro Board of Directors approved a motion (2022-0422) requesting staff to collaborate with LA County agencies and outside community partners on a Land Bank Pilot Program and to identify roles that Metro can take as part of the Land Bank Pilot and associated duties. This motion further directed staff to report back in October 2022.
On November 8, 2022 Metro issued a Board Box in response to the June 2022 motion. That Board Box clarifies staff’s intended roles as part of a Land Bank Pilot Program, including the following recommendations that Metro will:
• Not formally partner on a programmatic level with the County to acquire properties for or lead aspects of the County’s land bank pilot;
• Collaborate with local jurisdictions through the corridor planning and Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) Implementation Plan process to identify key community priorities and opportunities for the County’s Land Bank Pilot Program to help achieve shared goals and to consider how any potential sites align with local visions for station areas;
• Institute a checklist to be used in the planning process to help staff consider the potential for joint development in property acquisitions;
• Regularly coordinate with County Land bank staff during the planning and engineering phases of corridor projects;
• Where opportunities may exist to enhance or augment planned acquisitions, identify such sites and coordinate with County and local jurisdictions’ staff to determine the appropriateness and explore the feasibility of incorporating such sites into the County’s Land Bank Pilot Program;
• When appropriate, enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the County to facilitate the planning, outreach, transfer (if necessary), and disposition of properties acquired through the County’s Land Bank Pilot Program;
• Through the Housing Lab, identify odd-shaped remnant properties that may provide alternative forms of housing; and,
• Consider the role of the County’s Land Bank Pilot Program and further opportunities for collaboration with the County on Metro’s Community Land Trust Strategy that is under development and scheduled to be released early next year.
Questions have been raised by many cities throughout LA County regarding Metro’s role and how Metro’s capital program will fit in with the County’s Land Bank Pilot Program. Therefore, adoption of Board policy that aligns with the recently-issued Board Box is necessary to ensure clarity of roles and responsibilities, for Metro and for cities impacted by Metro’s highway and transit capital projects.
Subject
SUBJECT: LAND BANK PILOT PROGRAM MOTION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE Motion by Directors Hahn, Najarian, Dutra, Sandoval, and Butts that consistent with the November 8, 2022 Board Box, direct the Chief Executive Officer to adopt as policy that:
A. consistent with Metro’s Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) Policy, Metro property may only be included in LA County’s Land Bank Pilot Program so long as it is done in coordination with local jurisdictions.; and
B. due to the timing and limitations of Metro’s land acquisition process, Metro shall not formally partner with LA County on a programmatic level to acquire properties for or lead aspects of the County’s Land Bank Pilot Program.