Metro Approves Mayor Garcetti’s Directive on Affordable Housing & Small Business
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The motion by Mayor Garcetti also calls on staff to begin developing criteria for providing land discounts on MTA owned property to support affordable housing development and establishes a goal that 35 percent of housing units developed on MTA property be affordable units.
“Our transportation infrastructure program represents the nation’s largest public works program, and it’s important that we seize the opportunity to maximize all the benefits that can go along with it, including affordable housing and jobs,” Mayor Garcetti said. “The link between affordable housing and transit is a common sense one that will boost our economy and cut traffic.”
MTA’s ridership demographics show that eighty-five percent of MTA’s ridership is regarded as low-income. And as housing prices increase inLos Angeles, car commuters can be driven further away from work, increasing overall traffic congestion. L.A. is currently considered the most unaffordable housing market in the country.
Metro’s current transportation build-out includes extending the Expo Line and the Wilshire Subway to the west, the Gold Line to the east, the Downtown Connector that brings rail lines together for easier transfers and seamless trips, and the new Crenshaw line that will also final connect rail to LAX. A new Rapid Bus Line to the west on Wilshire is also nearing completion.
“We cannot afford to have a status quo approach to developing our transportation infrastructure,” said MTA Board Director Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, who was appointed to the Board by Mayor Garcetti. “As MTA invests billions in the region’s transportation infrastructure, it must also take care to work closely with cities and with community stakeholders to guide responsible development that preserves and creates opportunities for all.”
by Mayor Eric Garcetti
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