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Residents and advocates urge committee: do not gut Measure ULA; fix contracting now
Summary
Nearly an hour of public comment emphasized that Measure ULA is preventing evictions and funding permanent housing; commenters and service providers warned that contracting delays are forcing furloughs and that sending amendments to the ballot would undermine voter intent and tenant protections.
A steady stream of residents, tenant advocates and labor representatives told the Los Angeles ad hoc committee on Measure ULA that the voter-approved transfer-tax measure is delivering eviction defense, rental assistance and permanent housing — and that the committee should not weaken it now or send major changes to the ballot.
Multiple public commenters recounted personal housing crises they said Measure ULA helped address. A public commenter who did not give a name but spoke at the start of the meeting said the relevant agency assisted 1,511 cases in a nine-month period and warned that without a signed contract staff would be furloughed beginning June 15. Barbara Schultz of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and StayHoused LA told the committee that StayHoused LA has been without a contract for two months and subcontractors have already begun furloughs, reducing eviction-defense capacity.
Speakers representing LA CAN, Public Counsel, the UHLA coalition and labor organizations described Measure ULA outputs such as eviction-defense clinics, rental assistance and thousands of units of affordable housing. Christopher Ackerley, a Skid Row resident and LA CAN member, said ULA-funded legal support helped him defeat repeated eviction filings. Angela Birdsong of LA CAN and Daniel Jimenez of coalition groups urged the committee to prioritize permanent housing and technical fixes to implementation rather than pursuing ballot initiatives that could reduce the revenue available for tenant services.
Several organizations — including the LAOC Building and Construction Trades Council and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor — said ULA creates union jobs and urged measured improvements rather than dramatic rollbacks. One developer and national housing practitioner, Ian Lundy, expressed concern that ULA’s current form increases project costs and urged consideration of exemptions for newly constructed multifamily projects and caps to keep an industry viable in Los Angeles.
Commenters repeatedly asked the committee to ensure contracts are executed promptly so service providers can operate and clients are not left without legal help. The public comment period closed at 9:15 a.m., after almost an hour of testimony.
