Long Beach approves Measure A allocations and MOU with La Casa to bolster housing, prevention and services

The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday authorized agreements and funding arrangements to receive Measure A dollars allocated by the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (La Casa) and funds administered by the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office for homelessness services and local solutions.

Council action and what staff asked the council to approve

City staff asked the Council to authorize the city manager to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with La Casa and to accept and expend county-administered Measure A funds that will support three programmatic areas: affordable housing production, preservation and ownership (PPO); renter protection and homelessness prevention (RPHP); and technical assistance. Staff also presented county-administered Measure A allocations for comprehensive homelessness services and “local solutions” funding that will be administered through the county CEO and related bodies.

Why it matters: available funding and program priorities

Staff said the combined Measure A sources that Long Beach will program this year and in near-term budgets total roughly $24 million for homelessness prevention, operations, and housing production when La Casa allocations and county CEO direct allocations are added together. Staff described how La Casa’s allocation to Long Beach will fund a mix of loans and subsidies, tenant legal services and “right to counsel,” emergency rental assistance and shallow subsidies, housing navigation and rapid re-housing subrecipients, technical assistance for affordable housing development, and community land trust support.

“We’re here before you tonight to ask for your approval to take the critical first step and enter into the MOU with La Casa to make sure we can access these resources and begin implementing this important work,” April Apodaca, Community Development, said during the presentation.

Programmatic highlights described by staff (rounding as presented)

- Production/Preservation/Ownership (PPO): staff described about $5.2 million allocated to provide loans and technical support to affordable housing developers and related activities to create or preserve lower-income rental units; Community Development recommended that the Long Beach Community Investment Company (LBCIC) be designated to review and approve developer agreements for these loans. - Renter Protection and Homelessness Prevention (RPHP): roughly $4.8 million proposed for emergency rental assistance, shallow subsidies, and to expand access to the county-run Stay Housed Los Angeles right-to-counsel network; staff noted they would program a match (5% participation match from La Casa) to support right-to-counsel commitments. - Technical assistance: about $774,000 to support capacity building, legal services for developments, housing navigation and community land trust activities. - County CEO / Comprehensive Homelessness Services: the Homeless Services Bureau described $8.2 million in county-administered Measure A funding for continued core homelessness services (outreach, housing navigation, interim and permanent housing supports, HMIS operations, landlord engagement and subrecipient rapid rehousing grants) and an additional $4.86 million through Local Solutions (direct city allocation) for prevention, outreach, interim housing support, housing navigation and crisis response teams.

Council discussion and next steps

Councilmembers and the mayor characterized the agreements as a major regional funding opportunity that will support both housing production and homelessness prevention, with several members asking for future updates and reminding staff that the county program is new and guidelines could evolve. Councilmember Kerr and others praised regional collaboration and the mayor’s role on La Casa. Councilmember Ixotti asked clarifying questions about how the 5% La Casa participation match applied to the renter-protection funds; staff said the match supports participation in county planning work and that flexibility remains to program funds across RPHP priorities.

Vote and implementation

The council approved the MOU with La Casa and the associated actions to accept and expend county Measure A funds (item 25) and later approved the county-administered comprehensive homelessness services allocation (item 27) and the Local Solutions allocation (item 28). Staff said they will return with updates during future budget cycles as guidelines and allocations are refined and carryover is accounted for.

Ending

Staff and the mayor said the funding is ongoing (no sunset) and will be subject to county oversight and local reporting; councilmembers asked staff to ensure coordination across departments in deploying prevention, navigation, and production dollars to maximize housing outcomes.