Build Better L.A. Measure Lands on November Ballot

The measure will bring more affordable housing units to Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles City Council voted to approve the Affordable Housing and Labor Standards for General Plan Amendments and Zoning Changes to appeal on the ballot in November. The initiative, also known as Build Better L.A. , will require multifamily developers to allot a certain—as of now undetermined—percentage of units for affordable housing and low-income residents. “There is a large and conscious electorate in November, which means more people getting the opportunity to vote on the future of how affordable housing and good jobs are produced in their city,” Rusty Hicks , executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the convener of Build Better L.A., tells GlobeSt.com. The City Council voted 13-1 to add the measure to the November ballot after the Build Better L.A. Coalition collected more than 100,000 signatures . According to Hicks, in addition to that initial support, the coalition has received tremendous support from voters. “As we were talking to voters across the City of Los Angeles, they told us that they are ready to vote this November on a proposal that will make our City more livable and inclusive,” he explains. “L.A. City residents are feeling the burden of our City getting more and more expensive to live in each day, and they want to do something about it.” While the development community is seemingly in opposition to the measure, as it could potentially halt development, GlobeSt.com could not find a source to go on the record about the measure’s impact on the development community. Hicks, however, doesn’t see the measure as a hindrance, but rather as an incentive for developers to create more housing for all L.A. residents, and says that everyone agrees that more affordable housing is needed in the city. “There are certainly different views on how affordable housing should get produced in our city, but our response will always be that families who need low-cost housing and good jobs cannot wait any longer,” he says. “Everyone should have the opportunity to afford a home, regardless of income. Everyone deserves easy access to quality jobs to be able to thrive in Los Angeles.”