Venice Affordable Housing Project Pits County Against City

Venice’s latest affordable housing project has gotten a funding boost from Los Angeles County, much to the chagrin of the city of Los Angeles that has spent more than $1 million in legal fees fighting its development.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved nearly $44 million in loans for affordable housing developments across the county, including $3 million for Hollywood Community Housing and Venice Community Housing’s Venice Dell project, Palisades News reported. The $3 million injection is in addition to the more than $42.5 million that the California Department of Housing and Community Development committed to the development.

When complete, Venice Dell will consist of low-rise buildings containing 120 apartments and ground-floor retail on a 2.7-acre parking lot at Venice Boulevard and Pacific Avenue. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district includes the Venice Dell site, announced the funding allocation last week. The Los Angeles City Council first approved the project in 2021, and in 2024, the California Coastal Commission granted a coastal development permit after years of review and legal challenges given its proximity to the beach.

Despite the approvals, including from the City Council itself, the project still hasn’t gotten off the ground. The city has spent more than $1 million on outside legal counsel fees related to the project; recent allocations include $650,000 through March. The office of city attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has continued to seek additional funding for litigation, including a $760,000 request at the top of this year.

Traci Park, who represents the area on the City Council, has derided the Venice Dell project over concerns about parking loss, coastal access and overall cost. Last October, the City Council began looking into converting the Los Angeles Department of Transportation-owned parking lot at the site into a mobility hub while studying relocating Venice Dell to another nearby parcel.

Horvath, meanwhile, has criticized the city’s legal spending, including the $650,000 set aside for outside counsel fees through March. “The city has now spent over $1 million fighting affordable housing projects,” Horvath said, per Palisades News. “While they’re fighting housing, we’re funding it.” The city’s total outside counsel fees related to such projects including Venice Dell exceed $2.5 million, the supervisor said. “It is ridiculous to spend taxpayer dollars to oppose a project that has been approved at every level of government, even by the Coastal Commission,” Horvath said. “It is time for the city to get out of its own way and allow Venice Dell to move forward.”

— Chris Malone Méndez