LA County would buy fire-ravaged land for low-income housing projects under new bill

A bill working its way through the California legislature would allow Los Angeles County, which was devastated by the wildfires that burned in the area in early 2025, to fund 

Senate Bill 549, introduced in late February, would allow the county to establish a Resilient Rebuilding Authority (RRA) that would be required to use at least 40 percent of its funding to build low-income housing.

The RRA for the Los Angeles wildfires would be allowed to "Issue, receive, and administer funds, including, but not limited to, tax-increment financing, federal loans and grants, state loans and grants, and philanthropic grants, to support recovery."

Taxpayer funds would be used to oversee the construction process, and the RRA would be given the power to "purchase lots at a fair price for land banking," "purchase critical construction materials in bulk," and "support the reconstruction workforce by partnering with trades, facilitating training and workforce development, and creating temporary workforce housing."

The bill would allow for "first look sale options provided to returning residents and their families, and to create community amenities such as open space that promotes community-scale resiliency and insurability," and would also "Enhance financing options for families and businesses that cannot afford to rebuild."

The RRA would also "facilitate reconstruction of lost rental housing stock, including by promotion of accessory dwelling units, senior-serving housing, and replacement of affordable housing lost in the fires." 

Any remaining funding would be able to be used for "multifamily affordable housing projects," "transit capital projects," and "transit-oriented development projects."

The bill has already passed the State Senate in a 28 to 10 vote, and a hearing is set for Wednesday in the Assembly, per The Center Square.

The hearing comes just over a week after Governor Gavin Newsom announced that $101 million in taxpayer funds had been allocated for the development of multifamily low-income housing in communities that had been destroyed by the wildfires. The funding provides up to $450,000 in loan funding per unit, and up to $90,000 in grants.