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M O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 04- S E P T E M B E R 10, 2023
V I S I T M O N T E R E Y PA R K P R E S S . C O M
Los Angeles awarded $156.9M for affordable housing units
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CPUC approves increase in storage at Aliso Canyon natural gas facility
By City News Service
By City News Service
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A rendering shows the forthcoming upgrade to the Downtown Women’s Center. | Image courtesy of KFA Architecture
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he city of Los Angeles received $156.9 million from the state to support the creation of 466 affordable housing units, the Housing Department announced Thursday. The California Strategic Growth Council granted the funds to LAHD under the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program. It marks the seventh consecutive year that LAHD proposals received AHSC funding, according to a statement from LAHD. “Thank you to our state partners for awarding the city of Los Angeles this critical funding. These awards will help our city continue to deliver affordable housing in communities across Los Angeles while making sure that our communities are safer for people to get where they need to go,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “We will continue to work urgently, across all levels
of government, to secure the resources to bring more Angelenos inside and deliver more affordable housing,” she added. AHSC funds will contribute more than $99.2 million to the production of four affordable housing projects, resulting in 466 affordable units in the neighborhoods of downtown, Koreatown, Crenshaw and Historic South Central. The money will specifically support the Downtown Women’s Center campus expansion project in Council District 14, HHH New Hampshire in Council District 10, Crenshaw Crossing in Council District 10 and Peak Plaza Apartments in Council District 9. According to LAHD, the AHSC Program is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle-miles traveled by financing “integrated new affordable housing developments and transpor-
tation improvement projects near work, retail and other facilities” often used by Angelenos. A portion of the funds will go to building sidewalks, bike lanes and bus shelters to encourage Angelenos to walk, bike and use public transportation to get to their destinations. In this seventh round of funding, approximately $22.7 million will be used for infrastructure improvements and transit-related amenities. Improvements will target areas most in need within a one-mile radius of project sites by installing “trafficcalming measures,” such as speed humps, high- visibility crosswalks and highintensity activated crosswalk signals. More than 85,000 feet of existing roads will benefit new bikeway infrastructure, and nearly 2,000 feet of sidewalks will be repaired, along with new trees and bus
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shelters. Additionally, $31.4 million will be used to acquire new Metro all- electric buses to increase bus lines near the project sites. “LAHD is excited to once again receive these awards of Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities funding,” Ann Sewill, LAHD general manager, said in a statement. “In addition to 466 affordable housing units, these four developments will include bicycle and pedestrian improvements, energy efficiency and water conservation elements, connections to high quality transit and other features that help create a more livable and sustainable Los Angeles.” Over the years, the city has received approximately $494.2 million from the AHSC Program to support a total of 39 housing developments, resulting in about 4,338 new housing units out of which 4,024 are affordable housing.
espite vehement opposition from many nearby residents, the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday approved an increase in allowable storage capacity at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage facility near Porter Ranch, site of the largest gas leak in U.S. history. On a 5-0 vote, the CPUC agreed to allow up to 68.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas to be stored at the facility. The previous cap was 41.1 billion cubic feet. Southern California Gas Co. officials requested the increase, saying it is needed to ensure adequate supplies for the upcoming winter months and to keep consumers’ costs down. Many residents balked at such claims, pointing to sharp increases in natural gas prices that occurred last winter and questioning the need to increase supplies. In a statement, SoCalGas spokesman Chris Gilbride said the company “supports the ongoing California Public Utilities Commission’s review of the conditions that drove up natural gas commodity prices in the Western United States this past winter. The CPUC’s proposal to increase local natural gas storage levels ahead of winter is a prudent step to advance our shared goal of maintaining energy reliability at just and reasonable rates.” Earlier this month, the CPUC announced a $71 million settlement with SoCalGas over the 2015 Aliso Canyon leak that forced thousands of residents from their homes. The Aliso Canyon leak began Oct. 23, 2015, and wasn’t capped until mid-February 2016. Nearly 100,000 tons of methane and other substances were released into the atmosphere over 118 days. According to the CPUC, the settlement agreement requires SoCalGas to pay $71 million in to the Aliso Canyon Recovery Account, which was created by the state Legislature to address issues arising from the leak, including air quality concerns and public health. The utility is also barred from attempting to recover costs of the settlement from ratepayers, nor can it bill ratepayers for other financial implications from the leak, including a $1.8 billion civil settlement reached in 2021 to resolve damage claims of more than 35,000 people. According to the CPUC, any request by SoCalGas for rate increases over the next five years must include an attestation from the company that the hikes will not be used to offset the costs of any of the specified Aliso Canyon-related expenses listed in the settlement. Those expenses include roughly $126 million in government agency settlements, $462 million in costs of housing displaced residents during the leak, $108 million for a study of the leak’s causes and $376 million for attorneys, litigation and other regulatory costs. In September 2016, SoCalGas pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of failing to immediately report the gas leak. Three other misdemeanor charges — one count of discharging air contaminants and two more counts of failing to report the release of hazardous materials — were dismissed as part of the deal.
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