Committee approves La Casa expenditure plan; members press for geographic transparency and HACLA details

The Housing and Homelessness Committee voted Jan. 21 to approve the Los Angeles Housing Department's proposed expenditure plan for the city's first allocation of La Casa funds from Measure A, while directing LAHD to provide further transparency on geographic distribution and the HACLA social housing pilot.

LAHD policy staff said the city is expected to receive about $135 million in La Casa funds for FY25-26 and described four spending categories: preservation/production/ownership (PPO) new construction ($67.4 million), PPO flexible ($19.8 million), renter protection and homelessness prevention (RPPH) ($41.5 million), and technical assistance ($6.6 million). Greg Spiegel of LAHD summarized the allocation and said the funds must be deployed consistent with La Casa regional guidelines and program rules.

LAHD proposed to split the PPO new construction allocation between the Homes for LA NOFA and a HACLA social housing pilot; LAHD recommended allocating PPO flexible dollars to an asset protection fund to stabilize at-risk deed-restricted units. Edwin Sun and colleagues explained that La Casa guidelines constrain use of some RPPH dollars for households currently homeless, requiring stacking with non-La Casa funding for TLS-like uses.

Councilmember concerns: several members pressed LAHD on how countywide Measure A/La Casa dollars are being distributed across jurisdictions and raised equity concerns that Los Angeles residents pay Measure A taxes but may not receive a proportional share of funded projects. LAHD and HACLA staff said further information on geographic breakdown, NOFA terms and HACLA project pipelines would be provided and that the committee should invite La Casa leadership to answer board structure and allocation questions.

HACLA social housing pilot: Jenny Scanlon, HACLA chief development officer, described three pilot components (public housing redevelopment, unlocking Restore/Rebuild vouchers, and acquisition/new construction) and said HACLA can provide pipeline projects and contract reporting to the city.

Vote and next steps: the committee approved the LAHD expenditure plan as amended (roll call produced four ayes). LAHD agreed to return with more detailed reporting on how funds will be spent geographically, greater clarity on the HACLA pilot before contracting, and specifics on the asset protection fund and technical assistance allocations.