Fighting for Affordable Housing in Venice

Affordable housing and homelessness

West LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Venice Community Housing is addressing the widening gap between what Los Angeles voters support and what public officials deliver. While voters have repeatedly approved funding and policies to build more affordable housing, viable, community-supported developments like Venice Dell Community (VDC) are being blocked or delayed by City officials catering to affluent, exclusionary interests. This obstruction is especially damaging on the Westside, where decades of disinvestment and exclusionary zoning have left deep inequities in housing access. The VDC project would build 120 urgently needed homes and serves as a test case for whether LA will move beyond symbolic commitments and take concrete actions toward fixing the housing crisis. Its outcome may shape the future of publicly led affordable housing efforts across the city.

This project will support Venice Community Housing’s ongoing advocacy to ensure Venice Dell moves forward and to protect the integrity of affordable housing development citywide. While VDC has received key approvals and overwhelming public support, the City’s continued obstruction places the entire project at risk and sends a chilling signal to other developers. If the City walks away from this agreement, it could deter affordable housing developers from partnering on future projects, potentially resulting in the loss of thousands of homes across Los Angeles County.
From October 2025 to October 2026, this grant will support VCH’s efforts to:
Retain a dedicated housing advocate and lobbyist (James Elmendorf);
Conduct strategic media and public relations to keep VDC and broader housing issues in the public eye;
Facilitate coalition-building, community mobilization, and grassroots advocacy campaigns;
Engage directly with public hearings, legal challenges, and key decision-makers;
Build capacity for long-term organizing and advocacy on LA’s Westside.
While the immediate goal is to move VDC forward, the broader aim is to hold the City accountable to its housing commitments and strengthen a movement for equitable development across Los Angeles.

If successful, this work will help restore public trust in the City’s ability to act on its housing mandates and will demonstrate that grassroots power can overcome political obstruction. The advancement of VDC will not only provide 120 affordable and supportive homes in Venice; it will signal to developers and advocates across the region that LA is serious about tackling the homelessness crisis.
Failure to advance VDC could discourage other nonprofit developers from entering into ground lease agreements with the City, leading to the loss of thousands of future affordable units across LA County. By protecting this project and galvanizing community action, VCH is not just advocating for one site, it’s helping shape the future of inclusive, equitable housing across Los Angeles. This effort will also lay the groundwork for a stronger, more organized base of Westside residents who can advocate for housing justice well beyond the grant period.