Board Elects Chair and Vice Chair at Inaugural Meeting 

 TORRANCE, CALIF., May 6, 2026 – At its inaugural meeting, April 30, 2026, the board of directors for the newly formed South Bay Regional Housing Trust (SBRHT) held the first meeting of a joint powers authority, which creates the SBRHT—a separate entity from the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG)—the organization that led the early feasibility work to establish the trust. The board also elected Rolling Hills Estates Councilmember Debby Stegura as chair. It elected Torrance Councilmember Jon Kaji as vice chair.  

The SBRHT is designed to help fund the development and construction of affordable housing in cities that are members of the trust, exclusively for projects that are approved for consideration by the city in which they are proposed. The need for the SBRHT rose as a proposed tool by the SBCCOG to help South Bay cities meet requirements of the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). RHNA mandates that every local jurisdiction ensures there are enough sites appropriately zoned for affordable housing construction to accommodate projected growth as calculated by the state every eight years. 

“I’m really hopeful that we can become a gold standard together for more regions across California as they look toward a more viable model for housing production that’s done in a way that respects and adapts to local needs and challenges,” said California Senator Ben Allen, 24th District, as he addressed the group on Zoom.    

Allen, who authored Senate Bill 1444, which authorized creation of the trust, highlighted the need to address housing challenges in the region and praised the trust’s ability to address homelessness by focusing on affordable housing production and housing assistance through subregional collaboration. 

 Eleven South Bay cities are currently members of the SBRHT: El Segundo, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates, Redondo Beach and Torrance. Each designated a delegate and an alternate to serve on the board, while city managers designated community development directors to serve as housing experts on the board. In total, there are 13 delegates and 11 alternates serving on the SBRHT’s founding board.   

Debby Stegura, council member, City of Rolling Hills Estates

Newly elected chair, Stegura, a retired business litigator and UC trustee, represents Rolling Hills Estates, the smallest city in the trust—with just 8,400 residents.  

“I think it would make a good point that our housing trust has a chair who’s from a small city,” said Stegura in her nomination acceptance speech just prior to the vote. “I’m all in on affordable housing…I think that this is opening up our community to a lot of opportunities. It helps the region; it helps our workforce, who will have affordable housing available to teachers, first responders and other people who work in Rolling Hills Estates,” she said.  

 Newly elected vice chair Kaji, a business owner and lifelong South Bay resident, told the group he is interested in how affordable housing can help Torrance and the South Bay attract and retain quality employees.  

“Low-income housing is an essential element of being able to do that,” Kaji said. “We have many here who work [for] minimum wage. They do qualify for low-income housing, and yet the current housing stock doesn’t provide inventory for them to live here.”  

He added that while first responders used to be able to afford a home in Torrance, now only 11 or 12% live in the city.  

Jon Kaji, council member, City of Torrance

At the meeting, bylaws were presented and approved as governance rules to supplement the JPA, covering board structure, officers, meetings, voting procedures, and ethics requirements. The JPA will allow the trust to enter contracts, hire staff, apply for funding and issue bonds. It cannot regulate land use or require cities to accept specific housing units. 

The board voted to enter into a contract with the SBCCOG for the management of the trust, so initially it will not be hiring staff. It also approved an agreement with the SBCCOG to transfer $7.9 million in Measure A funds received annually through the Los Angeles County Affordable Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) Production, Preservation and Ownership program as a funding source for the SBRHT. The SBCCOG has received the funds for this purpose, but the SBRHT has greater leeway to use them effectively.   

The SBRHT will have lending authority and can provide soft development loans, construction pre-development loans, preservation/acquisition stakes, master leasing, and direct service/homebuyer assistance programs. These approaches will generate revenue and allow for these public dollars to come back to the trust over time and be reprogrammed to maximize their use. The San Gabriel Valley’s regional housing trust (formed in 2020) is generating more than $230,000 annually in interest and loan fee revenue.  

The SBRHT was developed through work done by the SBCCOG with Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0 funding, provided by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and administered through the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). 

Over the past year, the SBCCOG’s consultant, CivicHome, has been developing a regional affordable housing needs assessment, staffing plan, budget and programs for the SBRHT board to consider adopting if formed.

The board scheduled future SBRHT meetings for the third Thursday of each month at 3 p.m. To follow the SBRHT as it develops, visit its newly launched website at sbrht.org.   

ABOUT SOUTH BAY CITIES COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS:  

The South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) is a joint powers government agency of 16 cities and the County of Los Angeles which share the goal of maximizing the quality of life and productivity of the subregion. Within this structure, cities and Los Angeles County maintain the qualities and characteristics that make them unique and independent, while also coming together collectively to address issues of common interest for a greater good of the communities through partnership, persuasion, performance, and advocacy. For more information about the SBCCOG visit http://southbaycities.org. 

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