California lawmakers are trying again to get rid of the nation’s only law that lets voters veto public housing projects, a provision added to the state constitution in 1950 to keep Black families out of White neighborhoods.
Most everyone in the Capitol agrees the provision should be repealed, both for its racist roots and because it makes it much harder to build affordable housing in a state where the median price for a single-family home is nearly $800,000.
Support in the legislature is not a problem, as a proposed repeal passed the state senate 37-0 earlier this year. But public support is another matter and carries a big risk. Some residents tried to stop the project but city leaders refused. So the residents put an amendment to the constitution on the ballot saying the government had to get voter approval before using public money to build affordable housing. The California Real Estate Association paid for the campaign and it passed.
“It has tied our hands in exploring solutions to the affordable housing crisis and homeless crisis in a sense by taking public housing off the table,” Castillo said.
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