(The Center Square) – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is celebrating the first year of a new housing program.
According to Bass, nearly 30,000 new homes are moving forward to completion, thanks to the Citywide Housing Incentive Program.
CHIP is the largest local rezoning program in the nation and was designed to cut red tape to make it easier and more affordable to build homes near places where Angelenos already live and work. Bass signed CHIP into law on Feb. 7, 2025. It took effect four days later.
Speaking recently at a construction site for a CHIP-approved project, Bass joined Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez for an Instagram video celebrating the announcement.
“I am excited because this is an example of how we are going to get housing built to meet our goals and meet the needs of Angelenos because we know that housing is the No. 1 driver for the city needing to be more affordable,” said Bass.
“This is an example of getting the units built with the driving costs down, and this is what happens when you have a leader like Councilman Soto Martinez in a district,” said Bass, a Democrat who was formerly a member of Congress and the California Assembly. “We have a great partnership together, and together we are going to make Los Angeles more affordable.”
Soto-Martinez did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comments.
Soto-Martinez serves District 13, which stretches from Hollywood through East Hollywood, around the Highway 101 freeway, and extends across the Los Angeles River.
To date, Soto-Martinez is the only person on the Los Angeles City Council who rents a home.
It is a situation that Soto-Martinez has used as he advocates for other renters in Los Angeles.
Wayne Winegarden, a senior business fellow and economist at Pasadena-based Pacific Research Institute, said Los Angeles does need a lot of housing. Winegarden added that “all the problems are driven by inadequate supply, and so increasing supply is step one” in this solution.
“The supply issues that exist are because of the excessive government regulations,” Winegarden told The Center Square. “It was an almost intentional policy to limit growth, limit supply, and it’s just basic economics that when you have constant demand, limited supply, guess what happens?”
Winegarden thinks politicians should be in favor of cutting more red tape. Right now, Winegarden said politicians only want to cut red tape for projects they approve.
But Winegarden cautioned the government to think about what it is allowing for construction and to ensure that people want to live in the properties being built.
