SCAG’s temper tantrum won’t solve housing woes – Orange County Register

Young families have abandoned the California Dream due to skyrocketing house prices. Renters spend half or more of their income keeping a roof over their heads. Tens of thousands of homeless people have camped on our streets. Kome Ajise, executive director of the powerful Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), which oversees housing planning for six counties and 191 cities, worries: “We are falling behind by the minute. .

So how did local politicians serving on SCAG’s 86-member Regional Council spent three hours at their meeting this week? Developing innovative policies to really address these serious problems? Is not. Instead, they became embroiled in a divisive debate about another half-baked voting initiative affecting California democracy.

The controversial measure, called the “Community Planning Voter Initiative,” would amend the state constitution. Under the sweeping proposal, local officials could bypass virtually any state housing or land use law. Dozens of public speakers begged the Regional Council to disapprove of what it called “extremism” that would “repeal hundreds of laws”. Like so many simple clauses introduced in California, if passed, it would lead to years of costly litigation.

Does that offend those who support the measure? Is not. They’re going crazy over a recently enacted state law that removes some of the obstacles that local governments put up to restrict new housing. Los Angeles Councilmember Paul Koretz declared the state’s laws meant “the destruction of single-family neighborhoods.” As a result, the majority of SCAG’s Regional Council rejected a proposal backed by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to remain neutral. Instead, by a vote of 32 to 12 (with three abstentions), they backed the drastic measure, which needed a million signatures to qualify for the November vote.

Huntington Beach Councilman Mike Posey thundered, “If this makes us more serious in Sacramento, I’m all for it!” He complained that locals tried to sue the state and kept losing. He argued that there was no other choice. Except yes. As LA County Supervisor Katherine Barger has noted, poorly drafted ballot measures “exacerbating the problems.” We run the risk of becoming “a state run by initiatives,” she said.

We have seen this happen many times. Voters have to endure costly and deceptive advertising wars. Each side asserts that the fate of the California Dream depends on a yes or no vote. When I was a child, the Legislature passed legislation that prohibited the discrimination of renting or selling to Black families. Opponents opposed Proposition 14 to repeal the fair housing law. After a bad fight, voters backed Proposition 14 by a margin of nearly 2-1. It was later declared unconstitutional.