In California, the will of the majority has always been blocked by the will of the minority, especially on issues affecting working families and people of color. Since the late 1970s, the California Constitution has required local bonds for housing and infrastructure to receive a two-thirds majority to pass.
This has made it difficult to meet the current needs of Californians, many of whom are struggling to pay their rent, living paycheck to paycheck, and having to make painful sacrifices to support their children.
In November, Californians will have a chance to remove some of the obstacles local governments face in building affordable housing. If passed, Proposition 5 will lower the voter threshold for approving bonds for housing and public infrastructure from two-thirds to 55%.
This is nothing new, either. More than two decades ago, California voters approved Proposition 39 to lower the school bond approval threshold to 55%. Since then, school districts across the state have been able to get voter approval to fund safety improvements and modernization of school facilities.
About 44% of Californians are renters, far more than the national average. More than half are rent-burdened, according to the California Housing Partnership, including 28% who are severely rent-challenged and spend more than half of their income on rent. As the state faces a significant housing shortage, housing costs remain far too high for California families.
Californians agree that affordable housing is an important issue. Yet for decades, the state has struggled to keep its end of the bargain and provide affordable housing. That’s in part because of procedural hurdles that make it difficult to build affordable housing, especially in affluent areas.
Under Article 34 of the California Constitution, voter approval is required to increase the number of public housing projects that receive state or federal funds. Local zoning laws have been used to prevent the creation of affordable housing. This tactic was invented in Berkeley in 1916 with the introduction of single-family zoning, which served to prevent people of color from moving into an affluent neighborhood.
While Berkeley is working to repeal exclusionary zoning and the state has introduced policies to facilitate the creation of affordable housing, more must be done to address the 2.5 million-unit deficit that has exacerbated our housing crisis.
As mayor of Berkeley, I am proud of the work we have done to increase housing construction, particularly affordable housing. In 2018, Berkeley voters approved Measure O, a $135 million affordable housing bond. Since its passage, 535 housing units have been built or are under development, and hundreds more are planned. In 2010, there were about 1,100 affordable housing units in Berkeley. That number is expected to nearly double in the next few years, growing to over 2,000.
Over the past two years, homelessness in Berkeley has declined by 20%, including a 45% decline in unsheltered homelessness. These gains would not have been possible without the support of the policies passed by voters.
In response to the ongoing need to create affordable housing and combat homelessness—in addition to modernizing aging infrastructure—the City Council placed Measure L on the Berkeley ballot in 2022. The $650 million bond would have created more than 1,500 affordable housing units, rehabilitated dilapidated streets, improved traffic safety, relocated utilities underground and revitalized public buildings.
The bill received a convincing majority of 59% of the votes, but was not enough to pass.
Although it is too late for Berkeley’s Measure L, other options are available in the future.
As Californians, we have the right to tell the government how to spend our tax dollars. If a majority of the population believes public debt should be spent on critical housing and infrastructure needs, then it should not be blocked by a minority. People may not always agree on everything, but our democratic system allows us to debate the best path forward and work together to implement the will of the people.
Proposition 5 gives voters more control over how our money is spent while making it easier to address some of the most important issues of our time.
Jesse Arreguin is mayor of Berkeley and vice president of the Association of Bay Area Governments. Distributed by CalMatters.org.
