On September 23, 2019, Southern California Grantmakers submitted a letter of support for Assembly Bill 1197: Supportive Housing by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago. This bill will remove one of the barriers that slow down the development of new bridges and supportive housing in the City of Los Angeles by eliminating the need for these projects to undergo the environmental review process mandated by CEQA. On September 26, Governor Gavin Newsom signed this bill into law.
Background
AB 1197 will remove one of the barriers that slow down the development of new bridges and supportive housing in the City of Los Angeles by eliminating the need for these projects to undergo the environmental review process mandated by CEQA. The 2019 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count reported over 36,000 homeless individuals in Los Angeles alone. The need to address the homelessness crisis with urgency and innovative solutions is critical. AB 1197 is a sensible approach that will open the city’s path to expedite the construction and reduce the costs of thousands of housing projects necessary to combat the humanitarian crisis of homelessness.
SCG has a long commitment to communities’ wellbeing in our region and throughout the state, including supporting philanthropy’s efforts to work with nonprofit partners and governments to address homelessness. In 2017, foundations gave $24.7 million to nonprofit organizations to support housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. AB 1197 is a crucial part of the solution to facilitate the construction of supportive housing that has been funded with Measure HHH or HEAP.