L.A. County to Get $111 Million From HUD for Local Programs
Los Angeles County will receive $111 million as its share of the largest Housing and Urban Development budget passed by Congress since 1981.
The housing budget, which includes record funding for community development and housing block grants, will provide a boost to local housing initiatives, but the funding falls far short of what experts say is needed to ease the housing shortage.
“This is the best budget we’ve seen in a long time,” said Jan Breidenbach, executive director of Southern California Assn. of Non-Profit Housing. However, she said, 150,000 households applied to the City of Los Angeles Housing Authority for Section 8 assistance two years ago and are still waiting for vouchers. Section 8 is a federal program that helps low-income families find affordable housing.
Los Angeles County will receive $5.4 million for 962 new Section 8 vouchers. Orange County will get a total of about $80 million, including $3.7 million for 659 new vouchers.
Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., said Los Angeles County is short about 240,000 housing units.
The county will get $44.8 million for the Community Development Block Grant, a flexible program that funds economic development and housing. Orange County will receive about $5.8 million in block grants.
Los Angeles County will get $13.9 million for increasing affordable housing and expanding homeownership through HUD’s Home Investment Partnership Program. Orange County will get $1.9 million for the program.
HUD funding also will go to the Homeless Assistance Program; Targeted Housing Assistance, which provides housing for the elderly, the disabled and people with AIDS; and funds for public-housing revitalization and maintenance.
