To the editor: When the Los Angeles City Council opposed Senate Bill 827 in 2018, the average rent for a two-bedroom was $1,663 and there were 31,285 homeless people in L.A. city.
When the City Council opposed Senate Bill 50 in 2019, the average rent for a two-bedroom was $1,791 and there were 35,550 homeless people in L.A. city.
The City Council opposed Senate Bill 79 this week (“Denser housing near transit stops? L.A. City Council opposes state bill,” Aug. 20). The average rent for a two-bedroom is $2,625 and there are currently 43,699 homeless people in L.A. city.
Los Angeles has opposed every major bill that would build housing in crucial areas and decrease the number of homeless people in our city. And now we have Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Traci Park, Imelda Padilla, Tim McOsker, John Lee, Ysabel Jurado and Heather Hutt and Mayor Karen Bass to blame for rising rents and the inevitable continuing rise of homelessness to follow.
These council members and the mayor have shown that they cannot fix L.A.’s housing problem on their own. This is exactly why the state needs to preempt local control from them and other cities like Los Angeles.
Josh Albrektson, South Pasadena