Hawthorne agrees to join South Bay Regional Housing Trust; council approves participation on consent calendar

The Hawthorne City Council voted on its manager’s consent calendar to authorize the city to join the South Bay Regional Housing Trust Joint Powers Authority (JPA), a regional vehicle designed to administer Measure A funding for homelessness prevention and exclusively affordable housing production, preservation and ownership. The action was approved as part of consent items 10–14 at the Jan. 27 meeting.

Presentation summary: Jackie Bacharach (Executive Director, South Bay COG) and Ronson Chu (COG project manager) told the council that Measure A allocated approximately $13 million to the South Bay COG area, with roughly $7.3 million targeted to production/preservation/ownership of affordable housing. They said ~$1.4 million a year is available for administration and that initial trust administrative costs are expected to be roughly $500,000 annually. The trust could use financing tools (loans, predevelopment financing, acquisition/preservation, rental subsidies, first‑time homebuyer assistance) that the COG cannot administer directly.

Key council questions and clarifications: Councilmembers asked whether joining requires city dues (presenters said no for the first year due to administrative funding from Measure A), how projects will be prioritized (trust board and consultant will set criteria, and cities keep local control over projects approved for funding), and whether the trust can regulate land use (presenters said it cannot). Questions about income verification and contractor costs led presenters to say centralized administration could save smaller cities money and that the trust board would decide program specifics after formation.

Vote and next steps: Council approved the manager’s consent calendar item authorizing participation in the JPA; staff indicated that the JPA draft documents remain subject to city attorney review and negotiation before execution. The council will receive the finalized JPA documents and will have an opportunity to request edits and return the item to the council for final approval if needed.

Why it matters: The JPA creates a regional structure to pool Measure A funds, pursue additional state and federal grants, and deploy financial tools intended to accelerate 100% affordable housing projects in the South Bay; participation enables Hawthorne to access and potentially influence how those funds are used for local projects.