The original policy tied private development to the public good. When developers built new market‑rate housing, they had to include affordable homes, some as low as 30% or 50% of the area median income (AMI) or pay fees that helped finance deeply affordable homes elsewhere. It wasn't perfect, but it at least tried to ensure that new development included racial diversity and people at the bottom of the income ladder.
Black families who migrated to LA from the Jim Crow South were drawn to Altadena because of its leafy, almost-country feel. It felt closer to the rural South, separate from the smog-ridden, concrete nature of LA. Through the wooded streets, people from across the valley wandered and became neighbors. Shade made it possible to hike or sit outside on summer evenings and chat with whoever passed by - about the news or a neighbor's dog.