Experts Explore Solutions to California’s Housing Crisis
On Tuesday, July 30, 2019 the BizFed Institute in partnership with the Milken Institute hosted a workshop with over 60 housing experts and stakeholders to explore solutions to address California’s Housing Crisis.
Participants included a broad range of leaders from academia, banking and finance, the building industry, property owners, health professionals, land use legal experts, school district officials, associations that represent seniors, environmentalists, regional government associations, nonprofit leaders, city officials, city council members, and state assemblymembers.
The gathering of experts and stakeholders was sponsored by Wells Fargo. Senior Vice President Jess Tirado shared Wells Fargo commitment and initiatives to support an increase in affordable housing in California.
The findings from the Gathering of Housing Experts and Stakeholders will be distributed to BizFed Members and BizFed Institute supporters in mid-August.
As a precursor to the findings being released, below is the program overview with a list of the speakers and panelists.
Program Introduction
Steve PonTell – CEO, National Community Renaissance & BFI Board
Chair Matt Horton- Associate Director, Milken Institute
Population Impact Analysis – The drivers of the housing crisis and the populations impacted
Dr. Dowell Myers – Demographer & USC Professor
Define Action Plan for Housing Coalition
Tracy Hernandez – Founding CEO, BizFed
Regulatory Reform Panel – Discussed regulatory reform to address housing inequity
Moderator
Matt Horton – Associate Director, Milken Institute
Panelists
Robert Apodaca – Vice President, California Community Builders
Bill Jahn – President, Southern California Association of Governments
Scott Laurie – President, Olson Homes
Miguel Santiago – Assemblymember, District 53
Natalie Zappella – Program Director, Enterprise Community Partners
Define Action Plan for Regulatory Reform
Steve PonTell – CEO, National Community Renaissance & BFI Board Chair
Matt Horton- Associate Director, Milken Institute
Lunch Speaker – Addressing homelessness & accelerating housing development
Mitch O’Farrell – Los Angeles City Council Member, District 13
Fiscal Structure Panel – Discussed fiscal solutions to accelerate housing development
Moderator
Larry Kosmont – CEO, Kosmont Companies
Panelists
Richard Bloom – Assemblymember, District 50
Ron Galperin – Controller, Los Angeles City
Dr. Richard Green – Director of Lusk Center for Real Estate, USC
Jennifer Hernandez – Partner, Holland and Knight
Suja Lowenthal – City Manager, Hermosa Beach
Define Regional Action Plan for Housing
Steve PonTell – CEO, National Community Renaissance & BFI Board Chair
Matt Horton- Associate Director, Milken Institute
Wrap-Up – Reflections on moving from talk to action & encouragement to join housing coalition
Sandy Sanchez – Community Development Director, FivePoint