For nearly half a century, sally A. Juarez has called a rent-stabilized unit on Toland Way in Eagle Rock home. Now, she and over 40 neighbors, including her daughter, a senior care worker, and at least two individuals battling cancer, face the prospect of displacement. Their homes could be demolished to make way for a proposed 141-unit affordable housing complex.
“I’ve worked hard and I just wanted to retire not with tons of money just to be pleasant and feel safe,” the 71-year-old mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother explained.
The proposed advancement, detailed in a city planning case file, has sparked controversy. While aiming to address Los Angeles’s critical housing shortage, it raises concerns about the unintended consequences of rapid development on vulnerable tenants.
JZA Architecture, the firm behind the project, declined to comment on its status.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez,who represents Juarez’s community,acknowledges the dilemma. “What’s happening here is that we’re building a middle, a missing middle, at the cost of our most vulnerable tenants,” she said.
Hernandez attributes the situation to Mayor Karen Bass’s Executive Directive 1, signed in 2022. The directive aims to expedite the development of affordable housing in Los angeles.
“With this new executive directive, as we do need to build and build quickly, I imagine that more cases like these will be popping up throughout the city of Los Angeles,” Hernandez said.
In response, hernandez has proposed a new ordinance for her district to implement additional reviews of rent-stabilized units, including smaller buildings, before any changes can occur.
“My ordinance calls for a certain number of RSO units, not being able to be torn down in order to build affordable housing,” she said.
Data from the Los Angeles Housing Department reveals the scale of the issue. Council District 1, which Hernandez represents, has 51,531 rent-stabilized units (RSOs), while the citywide total is nearly 661,231.
The Mayor’s office recently revised its executive directive,implementing a threshold on projects and restrictions about locations with 12 or more RSOs. However, hernandez emphasizes that these changes are not retroactive and won’t help the tenants on Toland Way.
“so there are still additional changes that need to be made when these situations occur, such as increasing the rental assistance relocation fee,” Hernandez added.
The Mayor’s office, in a statement to NBC4, highlighted the administration’s efforts to protect tenants while addressing the housing crisis. “Since enacted, the Mayor has taken action to implement new guardrails on ED 1 with more protections for tenants.Mayor Bass is working to keep Angelenos housed as we build more housing – for the first time in years, homelessness has decreased and a record number of people were assisted with tenant protections to keep their housing.”
The statement also noted that for every rent-stabilized unit impacted by the directive, more than 40 100% affordable housing units are being built. Eligible tenants will be offered the possibility to live in the new building and will receive financial relocation assistance up to $24,650 per household, according to the Mayor’s office.
However, Juarez believes this payment will be insufficient to cover moving costs and the significantly higher rents she will face elsewhere.
A group of tenants in a Los Angeles apartment complex are facing eviction after their building was sold to new owners who plan to significantly raise rents. The residents, many of whom have lived in the building for years, are outraged by the impending displacement and vow to fight for their right to remain in their homes.
“They’re trying to push us out,” said one resident, who wished to remain anonymous. “We’re being priced out of our own neighborhood.”
The new owners have reportedly informed tenants that rents will be increasing by as much as 50%, a figure that many residents say is simply unaffordable. “We’re hard workers, all we want to do is live comfortably, and now you’re uprooting us to live where? Where do we live?” another resident lamented.
Faced with the prospect of losing their homes,the tenants have banded together,vowing to resist the eviction notices and explore all legal options to remain in the building. Their fight highlights the growing issue of affordable housing in major cities across the United States, where rising rents and property values are pushing long-time residents out of their communities.
## Displacement in the Name of Affordable Housing? One Community Grapples with the Cost of Progress.
**World Today News:** Los Angeles: At 71, Sally A. Juarez enjoys the quiet stability of her rent-controlled apartment on Toland Way in Eagle Rock. home is where she raised her family and earned the right to a peaceful retirement. But this haven could soon be torn down, forcing her and over 40 neighbors, including vulnerable individuals facing serious health challenges, into the unforgiving rental market.
The culprit? A proposed 141-unit affordable housing complex slated to take the place of their existing homes.While the project aims to address Los Angeles’s pressing housing crisis, it throws a spotlight on the unintended consequences of prioritizing rapid development over the well-being of existing vulnerable tenants.
World Today News sat down with Councilman Eunisses Hernandez, who represents Juarez’s district, to delve deeper into this complex issue.
**World Today News:** Councilman Hernandez, how common are situations like this in your district, and what lies at the heart of these conflicts?
**Councilman Hernandez:** Unfortunately, we’re seeing instances like Sally’s with increasing frequency. The new urgency to build affordable housing, while crucial, can inadvertently jeopardize the security of our most vulnerable residents. Mayor Bass’s Executive Directive 1, while well-intentioned, aims to expedite development, potentially overlooking the impact on existing rent-stabilized units, including smaller buildings like those on Toland Way.
**World Today News:** What specific steps are you taking to address this issue and protect tenants like Sally Juarez?
**Councilman Hernandez:** We can’t ignore the human cost of unchecked development. My proposed ordinance for Council District 1 seeks to add an additional layer of review for projects impacting rent-stabilized units,especially smaller buildings often overlooked in the rush to build.This would ensure that a certain number of these affordable units are not demolished in the name of constructing new ones.
**World Today News:** The scale of the issue is alarming. How does rent-stabilization play into the larger housing crisis in Los Angeles?
**Councilman Hernandez:** The numbers speak for themselves.Council District 1 alone has over 51,000 rent-stabilized units, showcasing the critical role they play in providing affordable housing for long-term residents. Losing these units to development risks exacerbating the very crisis these projects aim to solve.
While the path forward requires a delicate balancing act, Councilman Hernandez remains resolute in her commitment to finding solutions that prioritize both the needs of the community and the goal of building a more equitable housing landscape in Los Angeles .
**This interview with Councilman Hernandez highlights the complex ethical dilemmas inherent in rapid development and the necessity for policies that consider the human cost of progress. Only through thoughtful, inclusive solutions can we ensure that all Angelenos have access to safe and affordable housing.**
