Los Angeles County citizens sent a strong message on November 8th that they support infrastructure development. They committed to a permanent sales tax increase to accelerate the expansion of our mass transit system by passing Measure M.
The annual $860-million that will be generated means that Los Angeles will finally get a system that takes people where they want and need to go. For Hollywood, it means there will be a direct light rail link between LAX and the county’s top tourist destination. And, there will be better linkages to other areas of the county as well.
The funding is expected to generate about 465,000 jobs across the region, which will be a significant economic boost to our area.
While Measure M will not eliminate congestion, it will indeed make a difference. People who don’t want to be stuck in traffic will have alternatives. It validates the strategy that regional and local planners have espoused for decades to encourage density near transit hubs. That strategy’s success is very visible here in Hollywood where thousands of new units have been built and occupied by young professionals, near Metro transit stations. That, in turn has attracted major companies like Netflix and Viacom, who are bringing thousands of jobs that will propel our revitalization forward.
Voters were also very interested in housing issues, with the passage of measures HHH and JJJ. Measure HHH is a $1.2-billion bond to build housing for the homeless. Measure JJJ adds a requirement for developers to include affordable housing in their projects. The Chamber did not endorse JJJ because its prevailing wage provisions will also raise the costs of construction by as much as 30 percent. However, its passage, as well as the approval of HHH, shows that voters are interested in funding affordable housing, addressing homeless issues and expanding mass transit.
The passage of these measures runs counter to the goals of the so-called Neighborhood Integrity Initiative (NII), which we will be voting on in less than four months. This no-growth initiative would suppress the development of housing due to its draconian building moratorium. It is targeted at decreasing density around mass transit, which runs opposite of what the electorate has just approved. Their solution to congestion is a two-year building moratorium. The voters, meanwhile have said that they want expanded mass transit and housing.
Hopefully, voters will send a strong message next March that we are going to stay the course by building needed housing and locating it where it makes the most sense – near mass transit lines. I believe most voters will agree that is where density should go, rather than spreading it across the entire region and creating more congestion everywhere. We have a lot of work to do to educate the public about the NII measure’s adverse impacts, but the recent voter-approved measures give us an indication of how the electorate is thinking on issues like this. I feel confident that voters will reject NII. Help spread the word!
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Leron Gubler has been serving as the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for the past 24 years. His tenure since 1992 continues to oversee the great comeback story of Hollywood.