Pacoima public housing gets federal funding for cool roofs as heat deaths rise
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Congresswoman Luz Rivas secured $850,000 in federal funding for cool roofs at Pacoima's San Fernando Gardens public housing complex, protecting 1,500 residents from extreme heat ahead of a forecasted hot summer.
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The funding was secured for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), which manages the low-income apartment development. The cool roofs are designed to reflect sunlight and absorb less heat than traditional roofing materials, reducing the need for air conditioning and lowering energy costs for residents.
"We know that climate change is here and our summers are getting hotter," said Lourdes Castro Ramirez, president and CEO of HACLA. "Many families, especially seniors, parents with young children and individuals living with disabilities, face the highest risk when extreme heat strikes. Reliable cooling, improved ventilation and resilient infrastructure — they're not luxuries anymore. They are essential to the health, safety, and quality of life for our residents."
Rivas, LA City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, and Ramirez appeared together on Thursday, May 28, at the San Fernando Gardens Community Center to present a ceremonial check marking the funding.
Rivas said the funding addresses a public health crisis that hits low-income neighborhoods hardest. Pacoima is one of the hottest areas in LA County, in part due to the urban heat island effect, where roads and buildings absorb and radiate heat.
"These are some of the deadliest consequences of climate change," Rivas said. "More people die from heat waves than [from] other natural disasters, especially here in California."
Rivas noted that many senior citizens, including her own mother, are reluctant to use air conditioning because of concerns about energy bills. She said local hospitals report that emergency rooms fill during heat waves with patients suffering strokes and other heat-related health issues.
"If you don't have air conditioning, it's unbearable to sleep at night, and that impacts people's health," Rivas said.
This is not the first federal investment in cooling infrastructure at San Fernando Gardens. Last July, then-Congressman Tony Cárdenas presented more than $3.5 million for cool roofs and energy-efficient air conditioners at the complex, according to the San Fernando Valley Sun.
The housing development was built in 1955 and originally lacked amenities to help residents cope with extreme heat, according to reporting by the San Fernando Valley Sun.
Nora Rosete, secretary for the San Fernando Gardens Resident Advisory Council, said the program represents a real commitment to the health and well-being of families in the community.
"This program not only represents a great investment in our homes, but a real commitment [into] the health and well-being of our families here in the San Fernando Gardens," Rosete said. "This program is going to reduce the heat in our apartments."
AccuWeather is predicting a hot summer across most of the contiguous United States, with the worst heat concentrated in the western half of the country, including California.
The forecasting company also expects more days exceeding 90 degrees than last year. Burbank recorded 49 days with at least 90-degree heat in 2025. This year, AccuWeather predicts a minimum of 56 days.
Ramirez said that over the past 30 years, funding for public housing has steadily declined. She noted that HACLA received only 86 percent of what is needed to operate and maintain its communities this year.
"All the investments that we're making today are going to pay dividends for our kids and for the health and safety of our families here in Pacoima, but it will [also] reverberate throughout the San Fernando Valley," Rodriguez said.
The $850,000 allocation is part of nearly $15 million in federal funding Rivas secured for her district in Fiscal Year 2026, according to a press release tracked by Quiver Quantitative.
This article was generated with AI assistance.