HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3B73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 100, Palm Desert, CA 92260 | lifttorise.org
RE: Approve Rental Assistance Program to Assist Residents with Overcoming Barriers to
Housing
Dear Mayor Grace Garner, Mayor Pro Tem Jeffery Bernstein, and distinguished council
members,
Lift to Rise would like to express our strong support for the approval of a Tenant Based Rental
Assistance (TBRA) program that will assist residents with overcoming barriers to housing and help
the city reduce the number of rent burdened individuals and families.
In 2020, during the pandemic, Lift to Rise partnered with Inland SoCal United Way to launch a
rental assistance program, called United Lift, that kept more than 120,000 people housed
throughout the County during the largest global economic crisis in decades. Working with USC
Price School of Public Policy, we conducted an evaluation of United Lift in Riverside County
where the data showed that individuals and families were experiencing rent burden prior to the
pandemic and how the effects of COVID-19 only exacerbated it. The evaluation also found that
tenants who received emergency assistance “benefited greatly” from “lower rates of housing
instability and homelessness,” and improved food security and mental health. Unfortunately, our
program was only temporary, however, we have laid out the framework for others to continue
what we started.
According to the city's own housing element, 60% of Palm Springs renters are rent burdened and
44% of Palm Springs homeowners are rent burdened; meaning they are spending more than 30%
of their income on housing costs (rent/mortgage and utilities) leaving them with very little to cover
the costs of other basic necessities. This program will help promote stable housing, reduce
financial stress, and promote positive health outcomes for both renters and landlords.
We are proud of the policy interventions the city of Palm Springs has taken to promote inclusivity
and affordability with ordinances such as inclusionary zoning and commercial linkage fess, TOT
allocations to affordable housing funds, home rehabilitation programs, and now a TBRA program.
We encourage the city to consult with Lift to Rise on the design and implementation
considerations of the program given the success of the United Lift effort.
Lift to Rise was formed to transform the systems that generate the supply of affordable housing,
recognizing that the combination of low wages and high housing costs are the root causes of
financial precarity among Coachella Valley residents.
That is why Lift to Rise and over 60 cross-sector partners, including the City of Palm Springs,
have coordinated around a shared goal of reducing the regional housing cost burden at a
population level through the production of 10,000 units of affordable ho using in the Coachella
Valley by 2028.
Together, we are operating off a shared Action Plan which spans 5 key strategy areas:
1.Aggregating a pipeline of community-prioritized projects across the valley,
2.Growing a regional Housing Catalyst fund to spur production,
3.Advocating at the local, state, and federal level for policies and regulatory changes that
Support housing production in our region,
09/26/2023
Public Comment
Item 3B
73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 100, Palm Desert, CA 92260 | lifttorise.org
4. Engaging and mobilizing residents and elected officials in support of affordable housing,
and
5. Keeping residents housed through a coordinated eviction prevention strategy.
We stand ready as a collaborative to support the city to increase affordability. We thank the City
of Palm Springs for joining us in this work thus far and urge the city council to continue to
prioritize the production of affordable housing to ensure that all residents are healthy, stable, and
thriving and urge you again prioritize affordability with this recommendation.
Thank you for your time.
Lift to Rise
09/26/2023
Public Comment
Item 3B