Councilmember Calls on City to Build 1,000 Units of Affordable Housing

During Monday’s City Council meeting, Councilman John Kennedy called on the city to build 1,000 units of affordable housing within a three-year period.

“I have asked the staff to develop a smorgasbord of incentives for developers to reach that objective in three years,” Kennedy told Pasadena Now on Monday. 

Kennedy made the request during a discussion of the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation. The city is required to build 9,400 units by 2029. On Monday the council decided to appeal the allocation.

According to the RHNA numbers, the city must build 9,408 units of housing by October 2029, including 2,740 units of very low-income housing, 1,659 of low-income housing, 1,562 moderate-income housing, and 3,447 units of above-moderate income housing.

Kennedy’s number is in line with the eight-year allocation for very low-income housing. 

Some local residents called on the city to comply with the numbers. 

“The new allocation plan will help our city to become a thriving, vibrant community that requires residents of all income levels. Fighting the state is a losing battle on RHNA allocation or housing legislation does nothing to solve our affordable housing crisis,” said Sonja K. Berndt. 

Kennedy, like the rest of the council, voiced his opposition to the impossible benchmarks established by the RHNA allocation but called on the council to establish its own affordable housing targets.

“I have a different prism that I see life out of, colored glasses if you will,” Kennedy said. “Colored in part by ethnicity.”

Regarding African Americans, “the numbers have lessened in part, not because of the actions of this council, but previous councils and folks that we had in positions of power locally and statewide that made policy decisions that impacted the African American community,” Kennedy said. 
African Americans and others have left the city and moved east where the property is still affordable. In Pasadena, some apartments are now renting for $3,000, as the city continues to struggle through a housing crisis. 

Meanwhile, officials in Sacramento have passed laws attempting to combat the state’s housing crisis, many of which diminish local control in favor of housing projects without considering a city’s record for building housing. 

“The consequences of not having certified numbers are rather dire,” said city Planning Director David Reyes. 

Reyes cited the laws that would remove local control. 

But that didn’t quell support for local housing targets.  

“I think Councilmember Kennedy is correct,” said District 7 Councilman Andy Wilson. “We should do our own work to figure out our own targets that reflect the needs of our community.” 

Because the item was not on the council’s agenda, council members could not vote on it.

“What I appreciate about John Kennedy’s idea is it publicly sets a goal for us to achieve,” said Councilmember Margaret McAustin said. “It gives us something concrete to work towards. Part of the challenge is the city doesn’t build units. We can’t promise we can deliver those. All the city is able to do is to create an infrastructure and an environment where those units can be processed timely so they can be built.”

The city has had goals in the past, according to McAustin, but never achieved them. 

“I really appreciate the spirit of it to push the need for affordable housing, to be front and center as one of the goals of our city. I think that is important,” McAustin said.