What the draft would change
West Hollywood's inclusionary-housing program requires part of a new residential development to be reserved for lower-income households or supported through an in-lieu payment to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The program was adopted in 1986 under Municipal Code Chapter 19.22, according to the city. The draft ordinance would raise the obligation for small projects from 10% to 15%. WEHOonline reported that the proposed fee for a six-unit project would be $825,200, compared with approximately $550,000 under the current structure.
The fee is based on a consultant's estimate that producing one affordable apartment costs $916,889. That calculation uses a countywide low-income housing tax credit formula adjusted for development costs, inflation and administration, according to the proposal details reported by WEHOonline.
Project-size thresholds
Under the current rules, projects with 10 or fewer base units—the number allowed by zoning before density bonuses—can meet the requirement by providing one affordable apartment or paying the applicable fee. The draft would preserve that flexibility for projects with two through six base units. Projects with seven through 10 base units would instead have to include at least one very-low-income apartment, while retaining the option to pay for the remaining fractional obligation. Those payments would range from approximately $45,800 to $458,400, according to WEHOonline. An earlier staff proposal presented in April had placed the on-site requirement at five units; the later draft moved it to seven.
Interaction with state density rules
The proposal also addresses larger developments affected by state density-bonus rules and SB 79, which allows denser housing near qualifying transit stops. Rental projects with 11 or more base units must reserve 20% of their units for affordable housing: 5% for extremely low-income households, 10% for very-low-income households and 5% for low-income households. The first 15% qualifies a project for a 50% state density bonus. West Hollywood's separate 20% local affordability requirement would remain in place when it exceeds the state minimum, Planning Director Nick Maricich previously told WEHOonline.
Timing and decision process
The consultant estimated that housing financed through collected fees can take three to seven years longer to materialize than an affordable unit built within the original development. The payments would go into West Hollywood's Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which can help finance affordable housing elsewhere. The fee structure and related estimates were scheduled for consideration by the Planning Commission Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., according to WEHOonline's report. The commission can recommend approval or changes, but the City Council will make the final decision, and no council vote date has been announced.
West Hollywood's broader housing context
The California Department of Housing and Community Development says West Hollywood earned a Prohousing Designation for efforts to encourage housing at all income levels, support affordable units and increase its housing supply, according to the department. The city's 2021-2029 Housing Element identified 1,056 publicly assisted units in multifamily developments, a figure that describes existing assisted housing rather than the proposed fee's future effects.
What the available records show
The available records do not provide a recent total for money received or committed in adopted city budgets. West Hollywood's 2013 Housing Element reported that the inclusionary ordinance had contributed more than $20 million to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund since its 1986 inception. In 2022, according to the City of West Hollywood, a $6,007,661 state Homekey grant and matching Affordable Housing Trust Fund money helped finance the conversion of the Holloway Motel into interim housing. For comparison, a June 2, 2025 preliminary Los Angeles County draft defined small for-sale projects as those with fewer than 15 baseline units, excluding density-bonus units, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning. That threshold and for-sale project category differ from West Hollywood's proposed rules.
