1Voice Summer 2019

Panoramic views from the mountains to City Hall would have driven up rents without the affordable housing covenant. At right, Cedillo and Hillside tenants.
Cedillo Averts Rent Hikes at Hillside Villa
Ten-year agreement at the Chinatown
apartment complex follows settlements
at La Posada and The Metro.
Hillside Villa Apartments opened in 1989.
The 124-unit Chinatown complex was partly
funded by the City’s former Community Redevelopment
Agency and, in consideration for the
CRA loans, Hillside agreed to charge affordable
rent to households earning up to 120% of the
median local income.
So it was for 30 years. This year, however,
Hillside tenants became
increasingly anxious
about being evicted or
forced to pay marketrate
rent if the affordability
covenant expired.
Councilmember Gil
Cedillo sat down with
the landlord and tenants for intense talks, and
announced an 11th-hour agreement in July to
Within hours of its April dedication,
Casa Azul began filling
with dozens of homeless women and
mothers with children.
Mexican cultural flourishes
throughout the big blue shelter in
Westlake make it feel less like an
institution and more like a home.
Councilmember Gil Cedillo said
he wanted to make the city’s first
bridge-home for families “a sanctuary
for healing and hope, something
aspirational.”
Mayor Eric Garcetti described
“I began with four goals that
Hillside tenants fully supported,”
Cedillo said. “No displacements,
no evictions, no rent increases,
and it’s for 10 years.”
extend the covenant to 2029.
“I began with four goals that Hillside tenants
fully supported: No
displacements, no evictions,
no rent increases,
and it’s for 10 years,”
Cedillo said.
“This deal meets all
four, and ensures that
the most vulnerable residents
in my district get to stay in their homes.”
The agreement follows similar settlements
that saved 122 units of
affordable senior housing
in Chinatown, and
60 units of transitional
housing in Westlake.
“Dealing with
expiring covenants and
tenant displacement on
a case-by-case basis is like scooping water from a
sinking ship. It simply isn’t enough,” Cedillo said.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 3
The Blue House Shelters Dozens of Women, Kids
Casa Azul as “a safe space for the
homeless to make long-term plans
and get back on their feet.”
People Assisting The Homeless
(PATH) manages residents’ care,
including trauma services. Surveys
show 97% of homeless women are
victims of spousal abuse.
Garcetti, Cedillo and County
Supervisor Hilda Solis recognize
Tescia Uribe and PATH for work
at Casa Azul, the City’s first
bridge-home for families.
“Dealing with expiring covenants
and tenant displacement on a
case-by-case basis is like scooping
water from a sinking ship.
It simply isn’t enough.”
New Economies for Women’s Bea Stoltzer
said Cedillo broke ground in 2016 by convincing
a local developer to
earmark $2 million in
community improvement
funds to subsidize
NEW’s La Posada,
a 60-unit transitional
housing program.
“Others have
gotten developers to donate to community
improvement, but not housing,” Stoltzer said.
“Gil has saved rental units and stopped rent
increases for families.”
Some relief may be on the way from
Sacramento. Senate Bill 5 would fill a gap
created when local redevelopment agencies
were done away with in 2012. SB5 would
create an Affordable Housing and Community
Development Investment Program to help local
agencies move forward with state-approved
community revitalization plans.