Mayor Announces Housing Bill

First, Mayor Villaraigosa’s affordable housing program. The Mayor would mandate what’s now voluntary under state law. In new projects with 20 or more units, up to 22.5 percent would be reserved for low or moderate-income families. The city would put up 200 million dollars a year and hope to leverage up to a billion from private sources. But the proposal comes at a time when banks are crashing and credit is scarce.