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Long Beach seeks La Casa partnership to target Measure A funds at senior subsidies and first‑time homebuyer aid
Summary
Council authorized staff to work with LA County’s housing agency (La Casa) to prioritize production, preservation and prevention dollars toward shallow subsidies for vulnerable seniors and to expand the city’s first‑time homebuyer assistance program.
The Long Beach City Council voted Tuesday to ask the city manager and relevant departments to partner with the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (La Casa) on the county Measure A funding program and to evaluate using the city’s share of Measure A production, preservation and prevention dollars on a targeted senior shallow‑subsidy program and on expanded first‑time homebuyer assistance.
Why it matters: Measure A, approved by Los Angeles County voters, creates a multi‑year funding stream aimed at expanding affordable housing, preserving existing affordable units and preventing homelessness. City leaders said the city will receive an estimated baseline of about $17 million a year under the program and that a local plan should include both prevention (shallow subsidies for at‑risk renters) and pathways to ownership.
Council action: Chair of the Housing and Public Health Committee Councilmember Tasha M. Thrash‑Ntuk presented the item and said the request would start a planning process to identify how Long Beach should channel its allocation from Measure A’s production/preservation/prevention pool. The council adopted the request and referred it to the Housing and Public Health Committee for further discussion.
What staff and advocates said: Mayor Rex Richardson and Councilmember Thrash‑Ntuk said Measure A provides a new revenue stream for the city that can be paired with local policies and programs. City staff and community groups urged early prioritization of tenant protections, tenant legal assistance, community land trusts and direct rental subsidies alongside production and homeownership strategies.
Public comment: Supporters included housing advocates and neighborhood organizers who urged the council to invest in tenant protections (including a right‑to‑counsel program and community land trusts) and to target funds to prevent displacement. Several speakers opposed using Measure A funds for the city’s first‑time homebuyer down‑payment program, saying the program favors households already able to accumulate savings and that Measure A prevention dollars should instead go to rental subsidies and tenant protections. Advocate Maya said the city’s down‑payment program had assisted “almost 50 families since 2017” but argued the program did not address the households most threatened with homelessness.
Staff clarification: Mayor Richardson clarified that Measure A’s countywide allocation splits funding across homelessness services and the production/preservation/prevention (PPO) bucket administered by La Casa; he said the county will distribute multiple fund streams, and the item before council concerns the PPO funds administered locally through La Casa. Richardson said the mayor’s office and La Casa will discuss priorities and that the council can supplement county investments with local policy.
Ending: The council’s vote starts a months‑long planning and budget process. Staff will bring recommended program designs and budget proposals to committee and the council as funding allocations and implementation plans are developed.
