The “Yes on 10” group sent over a press announcement to Zennie62Media that Proposition 10, the California Affordable Housing Initiative, got the endorsement of the LA Times and the Sacramento Bee. This is what they report…
The Los Angeles Times formally endorsed Proposition 10. This comes just one day after the Sacramento Bee noted “it’s time to tilt the power dynamic of this polarizing debate back to the control of local officials.”
Key excerpts from the Times editorial:
“Although the housing crisis is widespread, each city has its own challenges and needs the flexibility to adopt its own remedies.”
“There is no question that California is in a housing affordability crisis; nearly 1 in 3 households statewide spend more than half their income on rent, leaving many families one rent increase or missed paycheck away from losing their homes. And in much of California, rents are rising far faster than incomes. But state lawmakers have repeatedly failed to enact even modest tweaks to Costa-Hawkins that would have given cities the option to prohibit exorbitant rent increases, permanently or temporarily.”
“Still, any predictions that Proposition 10 would either save or devastate the housing market are overstated. If passed, the measure would allow local communities to debate and decide what renter protections to adopt, if any. That’s important. Although the housing crisis is widespread, each city has its own challenges and needs the flexibility to adopt its own remedies.”
“Research has shown that moderate regulations that allow modest rent increases and let landlords raise a unit’s rent to the current market rate when the tenant moves out do not stymie housing production. Proposition 10 also would codify what the U.S. Supreme Court has already decided: Landlords have a right to a ‘fair rate of return,’ which means they must be allowed to raise rents enough to make a profit each year.”
“… cities need to be able to respond to upheaval and suffering caused by rapidly rising rents. Just look at Los Angeles County. In the last few years, a record number of homeless people have been placed into housing, yet there hasn’t been a meaningful decrease in people living on the street. Why? Because more people are becoming homeless, often for the first time, because of economic stress, such as rising rent, a lost job or an eviction.”
“Local governments are on the front lines of managing homelessness, displacement and gentrification. They need the ability to stop the bleeding. Proposition 10 would give them an additional option for helping those at risk of losing their homes. Proposition 10 isn’t the solution to the state’s affordable housing crisis, but it is a valuable tool to manage the consequences.”