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NOV. 2 WATCH : Proposition 168

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California needs affordable housing, particularly in the expensive housing markets of Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Proposition 168 would eliminate a major barrier to development of low-rent housing. Voters should approve this measure in the Nov. 2 special election.

Back when affordable housing typically meant gargantuan public projects, Californians--who typically equated such projects with slums-- amended the state Constitution to maintain local control over where that housing could be located. Article 34, which was adopted in 1950, required a referendum by the voters in the affected city or county to approve any housing project in which 50% of the units were government-subsidized.

Proposition 168 would remove that veto power, except concerning large, federally financed public housing projects that “impose a significant negative impact upon the physical appearance or revenues of the community.” However, the federal government no longer builds those huge projects.

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The ballot measure does not strip away the right of local voters to challenge an affordable housing project. Proposition 168 would allow voters to petition a city council or board of supervisors, depending on the jurisdiction, for an election. That reasonable safeguard would allow neighbors to vote on a particular project.

Californians, including many middle-class families, need new housing they can afford. Voters should approve Proposition 168, which removes one big obstacle to construction.

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