Committee approves HomeKey Plus applicant selections; members press on relocation safeguards

The Homelessness Committee approved the Los Angeles Housing Department’s recommendations related to a HomeKey Plus applicant list and asked the department to keep council offices informed about tenant relocation plans and subsidy coverage.

Councilmember Jurado asked about relocation timelines after staff cited past seven-month relocation concerns for a project called Estrella Azul. Department representatives said developers have held numerous tenant meetings and the agency expects the rehabilitation timeline to be under a year; staff also committed to regular updates to Jurado’s office if problems arise.

The committee also asked whether Huntington Villa’s units are covered by rental subsidies. A department representative said the fifty-two units are covered for up to fifteen years by one subsidy and the state provides an additional five years, for a total of about twenty years under the current funding plan.

Staff noted that if a project’s status changes — for example, if a project is determined not eligible — that alters what the city can request from the state and could change the application and funding request. The developer for one project had filed an appeal that the department said would be resolved before April 3; Jurado’s office said it will stay engaged on that appeal.

The committee voted to approve the item. Councilmember Raman, Councilmember Jurado and Councilmember Bloomenfield voted in favor; two members were absent.