California YIMBY Opposes Deceptive AIDS Healthcare Foundation Ballot Measure
MEDIA ADVISORY: California YIMBY Opposes Deceptive AIDS Healthcare Foundation Ballot Measure
“California YIMBY will continue to support efforts that will lead to a greater abundance of housing. This ballot measure seeks to block new homes.”
Sacramento, CA – Today, California YIMBY announced its opposition to a statewide ballot measure funded by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
The ballot measure, which is being promoted by AHF president Michael Weinstein, would likely stifle the construction of new homes across the state of California.
“The chief proponent of this measure, pharmaceutical executive Michael Weinstein, has a track record of not just opposing affordable housing, but of purchasing existing affordable homes — and letting them fall into a state of unsanitary and dangerous disrepair,” said Brian Hanlon, CEO of California YIMBY.
“We support well-crafted rent stabilization and tenant protection programs, and have a record of campaigning for them. Our mission is to make California affordable for everyone, including vulnerable tenants and low-income Californians. The best way to achieve broad-based affordability and housing security is by building a lot more housing — not enabling NIMBY cities to ban new homes with a flawed ballot measure, written by the most well-funded NIMBY group in California.”
California’s existing rent control regulations, including the statewide rent stabilization and “just cause” eviction protection measures in AB 1482 (supported by California YIMBY), and various local limits on rent increases, are a necessary but not sufficient step to achieving housing stability for California renters. Evidence from regions with more affordable and accessible housing shows that the most effective means to tamp down high housing costs for families is to remove existing barriers to construction, and build more homes.
AHF’s Weinstein has a track record of owning and operating low-income housing that fails to meet basic legal standards for sanitation and safety. His entry into housing policy began with his unsuccessful efforts to prohibit the construction of new homes in vast swaths of Los Angeles in an effort to protect the view from his office of the Hollywood sign.
Additional information outlining California YIMBY’s position on rent control and opposition to the Weinstein can be found here.
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About California YIMBY: California YIMBY is a community of neighbors who welcome more neighbors. We believe that an equitable California begins with abundant, secure, affordable housing. We focus on housing and land use policy at the state and local level to ensure grassroots organizers and city leaders have the tools they need to accelerate home building. https://cayimby.org/