Angelenos urge council to reject amendments that would weaken Measure ULA

Hundreds of Angelenos rallied at City Hall during a public-comment period Friday to urge the Los Angeles City Council not to advance proposed amendments to Measure ULA, the voter-approved local housing revenue measure.

Tenant organizers, labor leaders and nonprofit housing advocates said at length that ULA — funded by wealthier property owners — has already provided eviction protection, rental assistance and affordable housing development and should not be weakened. “Measure ULA is an accomplishment that the city should be celebrating,” said Kyle Nelson, a tenant organizer and CD5 resident. “Any amendments or changes to ULA should come from a transparent process that includes the United to House LA coalition, not through shady attempts to undermine what voters overwhelmingly approved.”

Advocates pressed the council to reject carve-outs and long exemptions for new development, warning such changes would primarily benefit developers and wealthy property owners. Emily Ramirez, a housing-policy associate at the Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing, told the council that ULA has generated “over $1,000,000,000” and urged members not to reallocate the funds to interim housing or other purposes that would depart from voter intent.

Labor unions also urged protection of the measure. Mario Valenzuela of United Teachers Los Angeles and Rob Notauf of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor said ULA supports affordable housing production, union jobs and services that keep people housed. “We ask the council to stand with the voters, to stand with workers, and reject this council ballot initiative,” Notauf said.

Speakers described concrete benefits from ULA-funded programs, citing free legal help that helped families avoid eviction, direct rental assistance distributed to tenants, and affordable-housing projects in development. Tenants and community groups repeatedly requested that any further council action be subject to transparent community process and co-governance with the coalitions that helped craft ULA.

Council members acknowledged the turnout and signaled a willingness to continue conversation about homelessness spending and oversight. Councilmember Hernandez said she has advanced a motion for the city to consider contracting with the county for homelessness services, and Councilmember Rodriguez called for committee review into alleged misuse of homelessness dollars.

The council did not take a vote on amendments during the meeting; the public-comment segment lasted more than an hour and concluded before the council moved to posted and referred motions.