01/30/2013

Los Angeles to Vote on Damaging Ordinance, Long Opposed by CSH and our Partners

CSH and multiple partners have battled the Community Care Facilities Ordinance (CCFO), a proposed ordinance in Los Angeles. It would prohibit in all single family zones (over 85% of the residential area of the City) renting to four or more people in either a single residence or duplex, and would impose extremely burdensome parking restrictions on such households in multifamily zones. As examples, the CCFO would ban—

  • Renting to a family of four, even if the family includes young children,
  • Renting to a total of four people in a duplex, even if only two people live in each unit, and
  • Renting to four individuals who are people with disabilities, students, or seniors.

The CCFO would also make homes and shelters “parole-probationer homes” if the household includes more than two unrelated probationers and parolees. It would require a landlord to obtain a conditional use permit in multifamily zones and ban such structures outright in single family zones. In addition to violating state and federal law, the CCFO would harm City residents.

  • It would exacerbate crime, rather than reduce it. Restricting housing to people who are on probation and parole will only lead to greater crime, as probationers and parolees are seven times more likely to recidivate when homeless than housed. Evidence shows renters and people sharing housing are not, as proponents claim, more likely to commit crime than homeowners.
  • If enforced, it would lead to greater homelessness, as thousands of households would become illegal under the CCFO scheme.
  • It would severely decrease housing opportunities for low-income households and people with disabilities, putting multiple projects the City has supported in jeopardy.
  • The parolee-probationer provision would place City law in conflict with federal guidelines in administering housing programs, like Shelter Plus Care and HUD-VASH.
  • Because it blatantly violates fair housing laws in disproportionately impact people with disabilities and people of color, the City could lose its federal housing funding.

Despite opposition from CSH and over 150 other organizations, and a letter from USICH Executive Director Barbara Poppe expressing serious concerns, the CCFO may pass in Los Angeles. Similar ordinances are being introduced throughout the nation to attempt to eliminate sober living homes without blatantly violating fair housing. These ordinances can lead to increases and homelessness.

Help us stop the CCFO, should it pass:

  • E-mail Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to urge him to veto the damaging ordinance, or go to www.StopCCFO.org to sign onto the CCFO petition.
  • Keep track of proposed ordinances in your community, and educate policymakers on the impact on people at risk or already experiencing homelessness. Similar ordinances limit the number of leases in a single unit, and others limit the number of people who could rent in a single home.

For further information, contact Sharon Rapport, Associate Director, California Policy, at sharon.rapport@csh.org or (213) 623-4342, ext. 18.

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