| For Immediate Release
August 14, 2003 |
Contacts: | Victor
Rubin, PolicyLink |
| Charles Mason, STPP 916-501-7849 |
||
Luis Patino, Sen. Alarcón 916-261-9018 |
LA PRESS
CONFERENCE: NEW REPORT WARNS THAT
UNDERINVESTMENT THREATENS QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CALIFORNIANS
Broad-based Coalition Calls for Passage of ACA 14 and SCA 11
Los Angeles - The
"California dream" is at risk, according to a report released
today by PolicyLink, a nonprofit research organization, with the Surface
Transportation Policy Project (STPP) and Senator Richard Alarcón. Threatened
by rapid population growth, inefficient land-use patterns, traffic congestion,
air pollution and a shortage of affordable housing, California communities
must invest billions more in affordable housing, transportation, farmland
conservation, neighborhood parks and other amenities or else see their quality
of life decline. This new report, Investing in a Sustainable Future: An
Analysis of ACA 14 and SCA 11, highlights critical investment needs of $10
billion for local streets and roads, $15 billion for transit, and $12.3
billion for parks and conservation. Affordable housing is needed for 3.7
million households in California, costing billions more.
Two constitutional amendments, ACA 14 and SCA 11, proposed by Assemblymember
Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Senator Richard Alarcón (D-Los Angeles)
would help address these challenges, according to the report, by providing
new financing tools to upgrade local communities. ACA 14 and SCA 11 would
lower the voter approval threshold from two-thirds to 55% for local sales
tax and bond measures for communities that want to invest in a mix of community
infrastructure and amenities, with a minimum investment of 20% in affordable
housing, transportation improvements, parks and other general infrastructure.
"We need to empower families in local communities to decide if they
want to invest in building a better quality of life," said Senator
Alarcon. "Californians deserve affordable and accessible homes. ACA
14 and SCA 11 will give Californians the tools they need make important
decisions for themselves about housing, transportation, and infrastructure."
According to Victor Rubin, Director of Research at PolicyLink, "The
current two-thirds threshold creates almost insurmountable barriers to more
efficient development in many communities across the state. The data in
our report suggests that ACA 14 and SCA 11 would provide local governments
with much needed new tools to meet urgent community needs and to address
them in a comprehensive and balanced manner."
Based on a new analysis of data from the Public Policy Institute of California
(PPIC), the report shows that local voters' desires to invest in affordable
housing and other community amenities have been severely constrained by
the two-thirds vote threshold for local financing measures. If the vote
threshold had been lowered to 55%, over three times more local affordable
housing measures would have been approved in California between 1986 and
2002 - boosting the passage rate for these measures from only 20% to 70%.
The passage rate for local transportation measures would increase from 46%
to 59%; and the passage rate for local parks measures would increase from
30% to 50%.
The report also contends that a lower voter approval threshold would prompt
local voters to respond to the community infrastructure gap with more local
solutions, based on analysis of California's experience with local school
bond measures and the impact of Proposition 39 which passed in 2000. Since
the passage of Prop 39, 147 school districts have approved school bond measures.
Of these, 82 districts - over half - had never succeeded in passing a school
bond measure before.
"We should let local communities have more control over their own destinies.
These measures give them new tools to promote responsible growth and help
maintain quality of life," said Charles Mason, Policy Director for
the Surface Transportation Policy Project, which is sponsoring ACA 14 and
SCA 11.
The report was released at a press conference held at Montage at Village
Green in Sylmar, a transit-oriented development that combines housing, restaurants,
shops, and other local businesses and services within a short distance of
transit.
Senator Alarcón also announced at the press conference that approximately
70 groups have joined the broad-based coalition in support of ACA 14 and
SCA 11, including labor, business, local government, social equity, housing,
and environmental groups. The growing base of support for these measures
demonstrates that responsible growth and local control over investment decisions
are issues that appeal to many different constituencies.
Skip Henke of the LA-Orange County Building Trades Council added, "SCA
11 is exactly the kind of legislation we need. It empowers communities to
help themselves and brings together everyone from across the spectrum, labor,
environment, transportation, and good public policy advocates to work together
to improve our communities."
"An enhanced quality of life, access to affordable housing and transportation
is crucial for growth of California business," stated Mary Leslie,
President of the Los Angeles Business Council.
Tim O'Connell of Century Housing, added "The people of California,
and especially Los Angeles, already know what the PolicyLink report says--the
system is broken and we have to fix it. We need to have fewer "special
interest," single purpose taxes, and more balanced planning, and we
need to be able to make the decisions on how much we want to pay and what
that money should be spent for here, where we live."
PolicyLink is a national nonprofit research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing policies to achieve economic and social equity based on the wisdom, voice, and experience of local constituencies. PolicyLink bridges the traditional divides between communities and the world of policymakers by lifting up what works®.
The Surface Transportation
Policy Project is a coalition of more than 200 professional, environmental
and community organizations working for a balanced transportation policy
that protects neighborhoods, promotes social equity and makes communities
more livable. www.transact.org/ca/