Los Angeles residents voted Tuesday to fund transportation improvements and solutions to homelessness.
Measure M, which would levy a half-cent sales tax to expand LA county transportation systems, passed with almost 70 percent approval. Measure HHH, which would finance the construction of 10,000 housing units for homeless individuals, received 76 percent of the vote. Both measures needed at least two-thirds of the popular vote to pass.
Measure M will allocate $860 million annually to expand the county’s bicycle share programs, repair roads and sidewalks and create a tunnel connecting the San Fernando Valley and the Westside of LA. The measure will also fund the extension of a light rail line to Westwood and another line to Los Angeles International Airport.
Republican and Democratic officials, labor and business organizations and Mayor Eric Garcetti endorsed Measure M, according to its website.
Measure M’s sales tax will increase to one cent after Measure R expires in 2039.
[Related: LA Metro’s Measure M sales tax increase garners support in Westwood]
Measure HHH is a $1.2 billion bond funded by property taxes that will allow the city to buy land and pay for part of the construction of the 10,000 affordable units. Garcetti, Los Angeles City Council member Paul Koretz and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce endorsed the measure, according to its website.
David Lorango, outreach and communications chair of the Westwood Neighborhood Council, said he is concerned about Measure HHH’s property tax increase because Westwood Village tenants already pay high rents and property taxes.
He added he hopes increased revenue from customers taking the train to Westwood will offset the impact of the higher property taxes. Measure M will allow the Purple Line Extension to extend to Westwood by 2027, according to city estimates.
WWNC President Lisa Chapman said Measure HHH will also supply money to neighborhood councils, which she thinks the WWNC should use to provide Westwood homeless individuals with job training and medical access.
Chapman added she hopes more Westwood residents will use mass transit.
“Los Angeles is so behind in public transportation,” Chapman said. “(Measure M) is a no-brainer.”
Contributing reports from Jacob Preal, Daily Bruin contributor.