Rosemead: Lots of Land, Little Affordable Housing!

OPINION

Rosemead Civic Center (File Photo – cityofrosemead.org)

As readers are undoubtedly aware, housing affordability and homelessness continue to be major challenges in the San Gabriel Valley as well as statewide.

By Scott Phelps

In order to get at the facts, Colorado Boulevard has recently surveyed new housing statistics in selected cities in the Western San Gabriel Valley, including Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, El Monte, Temple City, Pasadena, South Pasadena, and Sierra Madre.

Each of these cities is required by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to have, as part of their General Plans, a Housing Element that lays out specific numbers of additional housing units in their respective cities during the 2021-2029 time period. Colorado Boulevard asked for this data for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. Our request specifically asked for new housing that has been developed (or approved to be developed) for the so-called market rate category (i.e., where affordability is typically not an issue), but also in the more challenging Moderate, Low, Very Low, and Extremely Low income categories. These income categories are indexed to median Los Angeles County incomes.

While we await data from several of the cities (to be reported as the information becomes available and upon completion of our analysis), we begin with the City of Rosemead. This City was among the first to respond to our Public Records Act (PRA) request, and we thank them for it.

In spite of Rosemead’s express commitment to develop housing in each of the categories mentioned above, and having 43 acres of City-owned land, it has barely begun. Housing in the lower income categories is especially critical for Rosemead since the median per capita income (in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available from the U.S. Census) is around $26,000.

Excluding market-rate housing, the total numbers of new units added in all three years 2021-2023 in all the other categories was just 11 units in Rosemead. Five low income units were added in 2022 and a further 4 low income units added in 2023. There were zero units added in the Extremely Low, Very Low, and Moderate Categories in any of these years. In addition, it is unlikely that more housing in these categories will be created at least in the next few years since only 4 low income units have been approved in 2022 and are in the pipeline. While the response by Rosemead indicates that there has been contact with a single developer, Shea, regarding Very Low income housing, there have been no approvals for any units in this income category in these last three years nor any pending new approvals.

The City Council and the City Manager are responsible for the City’s development policy and both should be held most accountable for lack of progress. The City Manager, however, drives policy and makes recommendations for the City Council. Colorado Boulevard will be following up with the City Manager.