CalMatters: Los Angeles’ one weird trick to build affordable housing at no public cost

Stop wasting time navigating through municipal websites! ATC  is the only platform on the market that combines comprehensive parcel information with development history. Instantly identify all parcels that meet your specific criteria: size, use, zoning, and density—and their zoning, planning, and permit history. Parcel data is available across all markets.

How can you benefit?

• Advise Clients with Confidence: Utilize detailed property data to recommend promising investment opportunities.
• Stay Ahead with Market Pipeline Analysis: Monitor market trends and receive timely alerts for new opportunities.
• Optimize Site Selection: Discover off-market and undeveloped sites based on criteria such as lot size, zoning, and planning and permit history.
• Identify and Compare Parcels by Planning Project: Compare parcels with approved planning cases and understand timelines.
• Automate Property Diligence: Simplify due diligence with automated property data retrieval.

Parcel Data in Action

1. Analyze the Market Pipeline: Affordable Housing

Scott works for a housing organization and needs to monitor Executive Directive 1 (ED1) affordable housing projects in Los Angeles. ATC enables Scott to track multiple affordable housing projects simultaneously:

• Identify ED1 Projects: Scott uses Case Filters to identify parcels associated with ED1 projects, compiling a comprehensive list of all relevant affordable housing developments.
• Identify ED1 Parcels: The same ED1 search identifies land parcels tied to these projects, allowing Scott to examine common characteristics across affordable housing properties.
• Milestone Alerts: Scott sets up alerts for key project milestones such as permit approvals, construction start dates, and completion dates, which effortlessly keep him informed of significant updates.

2. Optimize Site Selection

Rita, a broker, seeks off-market redevelopment opportunities in South Los Angeles. Using ATC, she assesses the redevelopment potential of various sites by leveraging property data, zoning information, and historical development case studies. Here’s how Rita uses ATC:

• Custom Parcel Data Filters: Rita enters specific criteria such as Community Plan Area, parcel square footage, and use descriptions. For example, she selects “commercial parking” to locate underutilized parking lots and sets parameters for building square footage to pinpoint parcels with low-density structures.
• Evaluate and Save: She evaluates parcels matching her criteria and adds the most promising to her ATC workspace.
• Refine Prospects by Development History: Rita views planning cases for similar parcels to see what developments were approved in the past and how long they took to build, informing her redevelopment strategy.

3. Identify and Compare Parcels: Single Lot Design

Jeanine wants to find suitable sites for a Small Lot (SL) or Small Lot Design (SLD) project. Here is how she leverages ATC:

• Identify parcels by project type: Using the Project Type filter, she quickly identifies parcels that have SLD planning cases submitted. She also filters by whether or not these cases have been approved.
• Analyze characteristics: She analyzes all parcels tied to an SLD to identify certain characteristics of an SLD zone, such as its size, zoning, and use description.
• Parcel search: She adds specific zoning and size to her parcel search and toggles to all parcels according to those characteristics.