Securing the Roof Over Our Heads: Developing Solutions to California’s Housing Needs

8:00—8:45 a.m.  Registration Open

8:45—9:00 a.m.  Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Rob Ewing, Town Attorney, Danville, Committee Co-Chair, Municipal Law Institute Committee, City Attorneys Department, League of California Cities 
• Dion O’Connell, Deputy City Attorney, Pasadena, Committee Co-Chair, Municipal Law Institute Committee, City Attorneys Department, League of California Cities 

9:00—9:30 a.m.  Keynote Speaker

• John Heilman, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School, Former Mayor and current Councilmember, West Hollywood

9:30—9:45 a.m.  Break

9:45—11:00 a.m.  Local Approaches and Perspectives on the Unhoused Crisis

This panel will provide an overview of the legal framework cities must consider when adopting regulations and practices to address the unhoused crisis and will provide examples of regulations implemented in the cities of both Los Angeles and Sacramento. This panel will offer the perspectives of municipal lawyers, advocates for the unhoused community, and service providers serving the unhoused community and discuss the benefits of working together to address the unhoused crisis. 

Moderators: 

• Megan McClurg, Assistant City Attorney, Chula Vista 
• Isaac Rosen, City Attorney, Arroyo Grande, Best Best & Krieger 

Panelists:  

• Susana Alcala Wood, City Attorney, Sacramento, 1st Vice President, City Attorneys Department, League of California Cities 
• Valerie Flores, Chief Assistant City Attorney – Municipal Branch, Los Angeles 
• Anthony D. Prince, Lead Organizer and General Counsel for the California Homeless Union/Statewide Organizing Council and the National Union of the Homeless 
• Michael Graff-Weisner, Vice President of Strategy and External Relations, CHRYSALIS 

11:00—11:15 a.m.  Break

11:15—12:30 p.m.  Balancing the Tension Between the State, Local Agencies, and Builders

Our panelists will highlight the ever-evolving world of California laws designed to encourage growth and diversity in the housing stock and also share some war stories about projects that went smoothly and projects that could have gone better. 

Moderators: 

• Jena Acos, City Attorney, Carpinteria, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck 
• Kristine Mollenkopf, City Attorney, Lincoln 

 Panelists:  

• Mack Carlson, Associate, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck 
• Bryan Wenter, AICP, Shareholder, Miller Starr Regalia 

12:30—1:30 p.m.  Networking Lunch

1:30—2:45 p.m.  Ensuring Housing Stability: Adopting, Expanding, and Enforcing Rent Control Across California

The housing affordability crisis has renewed interest in rent control and rent stabilization throughout California and across the country. This presentation will provide an overview of rent control and eviction protections, their history and legal underpinning, how regulations are administered and enforced, and recent efforts to expand these protections. 

Moderators: 

• Elaine Zhong, Deputy City Attorney, Los Angeles  
• Dion O’Connell, Deputy City Attorney, Pasadena 

 Panelists:  

• Jonathan Holub, Executive Director, Santa Monica Rent Control Agency  
• Faizah Malik, Managing Attorney, Community Development Project, Public Counsel  
• Alison Regan, General Counsel, Santa Monica Rent Control Board 
• Karen M. Tiedemann, Partner, Goldfarb Lipman 

 2:45—3:00 p.m.  Break

3:00—4:15 p.m.  Providing Affordable Housing in California: How It Happens

There is a general consensus that more affordable housing units are needed in California and a host of new laws are designed to streamline the approval process.  But how do these projects actually come to fruition?  This panel will explore how developers select sites and target markets for affordable projects, different means of financing/subsidizing these projects, the impact of recent changes in state planning law and the role of cities in providing affordable housing. 

Moderator: 

• Rob Ewing, City Attorney, Danville 

 Panelists:  

• David Aghaei, Principal and Co-Founder, Eleos 
• William Huang, Housing Director, City of Pasadena 
• Ann Silverberg, Chief Executive Officer, Related California, Nor Cal Affordable and Northwest Divisions 
• Thomas Webber, Partner, Goldfarb Lipman 

4:15—5:15 p.m.  Meet and Greet Reception

Join us at the conclusion of the program to meet attorneys from the Municipal Law Institute and Attorney Development and Succession Committees as well as attorneys who practice municipal and public law. 

Keynote Speaker

• MLI Presentation by John Heilman

Panel 1: Local Approaches and Perspectives on the Unhoused Crisis

• Bringing it Home: A City Attorney’s Perspective on Responding to Homelessness and Making Communities Safer
• CHRYSALIS Presentation at the Municipal Law Institute Local Approaches and Perspectives on the Unhoused Crisis PPT

• Special Considerations Impacting Our Unhoused Neighbors And Creative Efforts To Keep People From Losing Shelter PPT

Panel 2: Balancing the Tension Between the State, Local Agencies, and Builders

• Summary of 2024 Housing Legislation

Panel 3: Ensuring Housing Stability: Adopting, Expanding, and Enforcing Rent Control Across California

• Apartment Association of Los Angeles County v. City of Los Angeles
• Birkenfeld v. Berkeley 17 Cal. 3d 129
• City of Santa Monica Ballot Pamphlet
• Economist Sign-on Letter: FHFA RFI Response
• Ensuring Housing Stability: Adopting, Expanding, and Enforcing Rent Control Across California PPT
• Fisher v. City of Berkeley 37 Cal. 3d 644
• People Are Simply Unable to Pay the Rent: What History Tells Us About Rent Control in Los Angeles
• San Francisco Apartment Association v. City and County of San Francisco
• Yee v. City of Escondido 503 U.S. 519

Panel 4: Providing Affordable Housing in California: How It Happens

• Background on Financing Programs For Affordable Housing
• Glossary of Affordable Housing Terms
• Providing Affordable Housing in California: How It Happens PPT
• Strategies and Tools for Preserving Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties