Skip to main content

Los Angeles Measure JJJ "Build Better L.A."

Support Provided By
Los Angeles Arts District Construction 2014 | photo Patrick Pelletier
Los Angeles Arts District Construction 2014 | photo Patrick Pelletier

What is Measure  JJJ all about?

It’s about trying to ease the city’s affordable housing crisis and providing good-paying jobs for construction workers and apprentices.  

How would it create more affordable housing?

Measure JJJ would require developers who are building ten or more units to set some of them aside for low-income tenants or buyers.  How and when they would have to do this is very technical and complicated. This is a simple explanation.

How would Measure JJJ work?

Imagine you’re a developer. You want to build new housing that is more than ten units. But your plans call for a taller building or greater density than local plans allow. Before you can get those changes approved you would have to agree to:

  1. Set aside housing units for low-income folks. (Between 5% and 40% depending on various factors and situations.)
  2. Agree to hire local union workers and people in union training programs. (This is part of the reason the County Federation of Labor is behind the measure.)
  3. If you can’t do either of those, you can pay a fee to a housing trust that provides affordable housing for low-income residents.

If you, the developer, agree to this, then your zoning change request will be considered. If not, forget about it.
On top of these rules, Measure JJJ would impact development near major transit hubs, like metro stops. It would require that any development in these areas also set aside a certain portion of the units for low-income households.  The idea here is to slow down gentrification around transit hubs, so people who use and need public transportation will have access to it.

How about the wage requirements?

Measure JJJ would require developers to pay a prevailing wage and hire licensed union workers and people being trained as apprentices. It lays out specific percentages: 30% of those hired would have to live in the city of Los Angeles. 10% would have to live close to the project and be in training programs that employ the homeless, vets, single parents and other workers “in transition.”.  

How many affordable units would be built?

Hard to say. It depends. The bigger the zoning change the more units have to be made affordable. A major change would require the developer to set aside 20% of the units as affordable. Smaller changes would require as only 5% of the units be affordable.

Poverty levels also play a part. If a developer offers housing to really poor families, then fewer units have to be affordable. If a developer offers house to moderately low-income folks then more units have to be affordable.

This along with the impact of the wage requirement makes it hard to predict exactly how much affordable housing would be created.

What are the arguments for Measure JJJ?

The L.A. Federation of Labor (a coalition of labor unions) and The Campaign for Better LA  are for the measure. They say:

  • LA has the least affordable rental market and the highest portion of renters in the country. A person would have to earn $30 an hour to afford the average apartment.
  • Most of the housing built recently has been for the affluent. There is not nearly enough housing being built for lower-income families.
  • Public funds to build affordable housing have shrunk dramatically.
  • Measure JJJ would help relieve this housing crisis by creating incentives for affordable housing.
  • Measure JJJ would also provide incentives for developers to pay good wages to local workers and support job training programs for vets. These workers would in  turn be able to afford better housing.  

What are the arguments against Measure JJJ?

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Times editorial board are against Measure JJJ. They say:

  • Measure JJJ could make the housing crisis worse.
  • The wage requirements will increase construction costs and discourage developers from building housing.
  • The proposals are among the “nation’s most demanding affordable housing and wage mandates on privately-funded development.” – LA Times
  • There is no analysis to show that Measure JJJ would actually result in more housing.
  • Two other smarter approaches to encourage the construction of affordable housing are being developed. One by Mayor Eric Garcetti. Another by City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell.

What does a “yes” or “no” vote mean?

A “yes” vote means Measure JJJ will go into effect in the city of Los Angeles

A “no” vote means Measure JJJ will not take effect.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.