Though eclipsed by Donald Trump’s surprise victory, both housing initiatives in Los Angeles — Measure HHH and JJJ — passed last night by wide margins, as did the transit-oriented Measure M.
In Santa Monica, however, Measure LV was slated for defeat as of early morning. Developer Beny Alagem’s HH initiative in Beverly Hills was also defeated, though by a narrower margin.
More than 5 million people in L.A. County were registered to vote in this election, according to the county registrar and clerk.
In L.A. City, 76 percent of voters — or 572,291 voters — supported Measure HHH, which will allow the city to issue a $1.2 billion bond to fund housing and supportive services for the homeless.
Measure JJJ, which had a slimmer base of supporters from the get-go, passed with 64 percent of support, with 461,563 votes. The initiative calls for an ordinance that would require prospective multifamily projects with more than nine units to set aside up to 40 percent of housing for low-income residents. The policy would also require developers to pay workers prevailing union-approved rates.
Voters approved Measure M by a landslide with 70 percent in support, or 1.45 million votes. The measure will raise sales tax by half a cent in order to improve traffic flow and expand public transit.
Santa Monica’s Measure LV, a radical amendment to the city’s General Plan that would have subjected all developments two stories or higher to public approval, failed Tuesday with less than 44 percent — or 12,658 — of the popular vote. The measure would also have put changes to city land use and planning in the hands of the public.
Wanda Group’s Wang Jianlin is likely in celebration mode, thanks to the defeat of Measure HH, Alagem’s effort to built a 26-story condo building next to his Beverly Hilton hotel. Thanks in part to Wanda’s No on HH campaign, about 56 percent of voters — that’s 5,510 votes — opposed the project. Wanda recently struck a deal with the city for its own $1.2 billion condo project nearby on Wilshire Boulevard. It now awaits council approval.