WILL L.A. CATCH UP ON HOUSING?

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX

California, anchor of the Left Coast, received some props late last week from an unlikely source, a Right Coast-based public policy group.

They came in the form of a hefty 62-page report titled ``Inclusionary Zoning: The California Experience'' issued by the Washington, D.C.-based National Housing Conference.

Inclusionary zoning is the favored phrase these days in the effort to have more municipalities force developers to build more affordable housing, albeit rental or owner-occupied. It means that when elected officials approve housing developments, the builders agree that a specific number of units will be made available to lower-income families.

Turns out that California is leading the charge.

During the next five years there is likely to be a 50 percent increase in the number of communities that have embraced the concept.

It's a case of developers being asked to pinch hit for governments that seem to be running shorter and shorter of money for good works.

``Federal spending cuts have sharply reduced the essential role that government programs and subsidies have historically played in the provision of housing for low-income families in California and nationally,'' said Nico Calavita, editor of the report and professor in the graduate program in city planning at San Diego State University.

Some California cities, like Davis to the north, have embraced the concept.

Whether Los Angeles joins in remains to be seen.

The City Council is talking about the issue and a vote could come this spring.

But there was some concern expressed during a conference call on the issue last Thursday that Mayor James Hahn is opposed to the idea.

It is not clear, at this point, if that's the case.

The mayor is firmly behind any policy that would increase the construction of affordable and market-rate housing in the city, said Yusef Robb, the mayor's spokesman on this issue.

``He would be supportive of an inclusionary proposal that would encourage developers to build here in Los Angeles,'' Robb said.

The key word there is ``encourage.''

Change it to ``require,'' and it's not clear what happens.

Councilman Eric Garcetti, a proponent of this kind of effort, doesn't want the city to be heavy-handed.

``I see it really as a contract between the city and developer. We look to a market-based solution with help for our affordable housing but we need to put something on the table,'' he said.

That latter could come in a variety of ways, including red tape.

Momentum appears to be working in the proponents' favor, though.

The NHC's report shows that from 1994 to 2003, the number of California cities and counties adopting inclusionary housing proposals increased 67 percent, to 107 communities. That's about 20 percent of the state's total.

Geoff Brown, head of USA Properties Fund Inc., a Roseville-based builder, has three projects featuring exclusionary zoning in the Sacramento area.

He has some advice our council members might want to heed.

``It's very important to create a policy that's really user-friendly and flexible,'' he said.

And Doug Shoemaker, policy director of the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California, notes that this kind is not the only answer to a problem that is likely to continue growing across the state.

``While it's not the silver bullet, it's a major part of the solution in California.''

Gregory J. Wilcox, [phone]

greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com