State won’t vote on public housing measure repeal

The decision to take it off the upcoming elections slate was made solely because of the “crowded and noisy” ballot that voters will contend with in November, Allen, who authored the proposed measure, said. 

“We have long wanted to get Article 34 out of the state Constitution,” he said. 

Article 34’s efficacy has been stifled in a variety of ways over the years, with local governments finding workarounds with private developers and other exemptions, but it remains uniquely topical in Millbrae. 

The city sued San Mateo County on the subject last year, claiming its September 2023 vote to purchase the La Quinta Inn and Suites for homeless housing without a vote from residents was illegal under the state Constitution. 

A decision in the lawsuit is expected by June 26, presiding judge Nancy Fineman said when she heard arguments from city and county lawyers in March. 

“On Sept. 12, the county adopted a resolution. That resolution was an approval for land acquisition, and approval for expressly for the development of a low income housing project,” Jennifer Lynch of the City Attorney’s Office, said during the hearing. “Because the county did not put that approval to a vote of the Millbrae electorate … the city argues that that resolution must be found invalid.”

Although Project Homekey developments are exempted from Article 34, Lynch argued that because the county has yet to guarantee Project Homekey funds for the proposed housing for homeless families and seniors, the exemption is invalid.

Statewide measures to remove or weaken Article 34 have failed three separate times, last on the ballot in 1993. Critics of the measure, established in 1950, maintain it was designed to perpetuate racial homeownership gaps. 

Allen — who noted that Millbrae’s lawsuit is an “unusual case” and most Article 34 issues arise with support for public housing from local government and dissent from voters — remains hopeful that a repeal vote will make its way onto future ballots. 

“At the end of the day, we have a massive affordable housing challenge in our state,” he said. “We want to figure out how to get affordable housing online. We need all the tools we can in our toolkit. Unfortunately, Article 34 is a potential barrier.”