Voters Get Behind L.A. Development

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The March 7 election results in the city of Los Angeles were seen as a victory for a broad coalition of business, labor, and advocacy groups.

The anti-development Measure S, which would have put a two-year hold on all projects requiring zoning variance, suffered a resounding defeat; while voters backed Measure H, which would raise more than $350 million a year on the back of a quarter-cent sales tax increase aimed at providing funding for homeless services.

Measure M, a city-sponsored initiative that gives guidance on taxes and permitting for recreational businesses, passed easily with 79 percent in favor.

“Tonight, Los Angeles can breathe a great sigh of relief,” Gary Toebben, chief executive of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “And tomorrow, the coalition that formed to defeat this dangerous initiative will continue advocating to make Los Angeles better – pushing for updated community plans, transparency in government, and the creation of the housing at all levels that Los Angeles needs to truly thrive.”

After the measure’s trouncing at the polls, Measure S supporters said their campaign changed the debate over development in Los Angeles.

“We not only exposed corruption but we began a process of reform; we built a citywide movement and we planted the seeds of change,” Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the measure’s key funder, said in a statement.

The election results were still tentative as of March 8 with nearly 300,000 ballots remaining to be counted, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office.

– Howard Fine

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