La Mesa may tighten affordable housing oversight
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Exterior of the Cantera project on High Street in La Mesa. Photo: Andrew Keatts/Axios
La Mesa's City Council will decide Tuesday whether to prevent city staff from canceling low-income housing agreements with developers without approval of the council.
Why it matters: The proposal is a response to a developer's request last month to back out of a deal to provide low-income units in a project after it had already received incentives as part of the deal as Axios revealed at the time.
Catch-up quick: In 2019, NTC Development used the city's "affordable homes bonus" program, exempting certain development restrictions on Cantera, a 32-unit townhome project, in exchange for reserving four units for residents earning less than 120% of the median income.
- The city's planning commission last month voted to exempt the fully completed project from those same development restrictions, but the developer no longer needs to provide affordable units.
Driving the news: Council members Lauren Cazares and Genevieve Suzuki proposed a new policy that would prevent city staff from allowing future projects to do the same.
- "Any decision to eliminate obligations to keep homes or properties as affordable should be made by the Council," the proposal reads.
- Cazares told Axios letting NTC Development out of its affordable housing obligation was "totally inappropriate."
What they're saying: "This is the first time in La Mesa that something this major has happened, at least in recent years," Cazares told Axios.
- "If we're going to be willy-nilly canceling these agreements, we'll never have a La Mesa that's affordable for families," she said.
What's next: If the council approves the policy Tuesday night, it might still not apply to Cantera.
- A La Mesa resident could still appeal the planning commission's decision, which would give the city council final approval on whether to let the developer out of the affordable units.