Bill To Increase Housing in Los Angeles Heads to the Governor’s Desk

(Sacramento, CA) – This week, the California State Legislature unanimously approved AB 2910, a bill authored by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) aimed at revitalizing Downtown Los Angeles and addressing the city’s housing crisis. Sponsored by the Central City Association of Los Angeles (CCA), AB 2910 allows the City of Los Angeles to implement alternative building regulations to facilitate the conversion of nonresidential buildings into housing.

“To support and sustain the ongoing revitalization of Downtown, we must eliminate the red tape that makes converting offices into housing nearly impossible,” said Assembly Member Santiago. “AB 2910 will address Los Angeles' critical housing shortage, support commercial properties facing unprecedented vacancy rates, and bring more residents to denser areas by repurposing existing buildings.”

"We're grateful to Assemblymember Santiago for leading the charge in removing barriers to conversions. AB 2910 will open up opportunities for innovation and housing generation while preserving health and safety standards,” said Anh Nguyen, Chief Strategy Officer at CCA.

As California recovers from the pandemic, the state is experiencing a generational shift in work culture, with offices in areas like Downtown Los Angeles facing the highest vacancy rates in over 30 years. While local leaders have advocated for repurposing vacant office buildings into residential spaces, significant technical and financial challenges remain.

Recognizing the potential of underutilized and vacant buildings to help address Los Angeles’ housing shortage, Mayor Karen Bass issued Executive Directive 7 (ED 7) on November 8, 2023 which assesses building code requirements that hinder the conversion of existing buildings into housing. AB 2910 supports Mayor Bass’ ED7 by enabling the City of Los Angeles to facilitate the conversion of commercial buildings to housing. The City must ensure that these alternative standards are equivalent to the California Building Code or provide the same level of protection for public health, safety, and welfare.

The bill builds on recent state efforts to promote adaptive reuse projects. On July 31, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-2-24 to encourage the production of more and more affordable infill housing and adaptive reuse projects. Last year, the Legislature passed AB 529 (Gabriel, Chapter 743, Statutes of 2023), which will help identify and recommend amendments to state building standards for adaptive reuse residential projects.

CCA is the leading organization on adaptive reuse in Los Angeles and was instrumental in the City’s adoption of the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance in 1999, which facilitated the conversion of historic bank and office buildings into over 12,000 new housing units in Downtown Los Angeles.

AB 2910 will be sent to the Governor who will have until September 30^th to sign or veto the bill.

Assembly Member Miguel Santiago is the Assistant Assembly Majority Leader. He serves on the Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee, the Health Committee, and the Utilities & Energy Committee. He represents the 54th District composed of the cities of Los Angeles, Commerce, Montebello, and Vernon.

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