Category: EBRHA

EBRHA BALLOT MEASURE GUIDE

10/18/2022

City of Oakland - Measure Y - Zoo Parcel Tax --- VOTE NO
This measure proposes to amend Oakland's Municipal Code to fund Oakland Zoo operations, staffing, maintenance, and capital improvements, including but not limited to animal care and rehabilitation, educational and conservation programs, fire prevention, accessibility, and visitor services.

Imposes an annual $68 parcel tax for single-family parcels and per unit for multifamily
Estimated $500 per $100K assessed value
20 years, raising approximately $12,000,000 annually
Exemptions for low-income households and others, and citizen oversight, be adopted

ARGUMENT AGAINST - Measure Y adds a parcel tax to each single-family home of $68 AND the same amount to EACH rental provider's multi-family housing units for 20 years with few exemptions. It imposes a significant financial burden on rental property owners and they are NOT allowed to pass this fee on to their renters. Many small rental providers cannot absorb this additional tax if it cannot be passed on to renters. Plus, this would generate $12 million a year for the Zoo with very little accountability for how the funds are used. If the city mismanages its spending, it can take these taxes for the zoo and place them into the City's general fund.
VOTE NO - EBRHA Opposes this measure.

City of Oakland - Measure V - Just Cause --- VOTE NO
Should the city of Oakland amend its current just cause for eviction ordinance?

Extends eviction protections to tenants in RVs, new units, educators, and students
Not for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), during the 10-year period after construction
Removes failure to execute a new lease as a just cause for eviction

ARGUMENT AGAINST - Measure V would further discourage developers from building in the city, which could harm renters by limiting new housing. Short supply is why rents are so high. It prevents rental providers from evicting their renters except for “just cause” reasons, like if a renter hasn’t paid their rent, damaged the property, or is doing something illegal in their apartment. The measure would needlessly add further regulations and red tape to the no-fault eviction process, which is already regulated by the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019. VOTE NO - EBRHA, CalRHA, and NAA Oppose this measure.

City of Oakland - Measure U - Homeless Bond --- VOTE NO
Should the city issue $850 million in general obligation bonds to invest in housing for the homeless and infrastructure projects?

Bond would raise $350 million for the purchase, renovation, or construction of affordable housing
$290 million for street and sidewalk fixes
Additional funds could be used for parks and open spaces, libraries, police and fire stations, and other city facilities

ARGUMENT AGAINST - Measure U promises to put money toward the same purposes as Measure KK, which voters passed in 2016. But we still don’t know how much affordable housing was built or how many streets were repaved with the $600 million bond that resulted from that. You can read about Oakland's recent failure towards the homeless in the city auditor's report. This new measure does not include accountability benchmarks, like the number of housing units to be built or the number of streets to be repaved and at what cost. Furthermore, the repayment of the $850 million in bonds, accounting for interest, is expected to cost homeowners $1.7 billion in property taxes. VOTE NO - EBRHA, CalRHA, and NAA Oppose this measure.

City of Oakland - Measure T --- VOTE NO
Shall the measure amending Oakland's business tax rates to create a progressive rate structure that would (1) impose the highest rates on the highest grossing businesses, (2) increase Oakland's annual tax revenue by an estimated $20,900,000, and (3) generate approximately $124,000,000 in total annual revenue for municipal services by imposing business tax rates of .05% to .55% of gross receipts, and other rates as stated in the measure, be adopted?

Every business operating in Oakland pays a flat rate business tax on their “gross receipts,” or their total yearly income.
Size doesn’t matter under the current system.
The progressive business tax ballot measure would completely overhaul the city’s tax code by creating a tiered structure in which companies with higher gross receipts, or yearly incomes, pay higher tax rates.
If approved, companies with $1 million or less in gross receipts will pay lower taxes going forward, while those making more than $1 million per year will see their taxes go up.

City of Oakland - Measure Q --- VOTE NO
Shall the measure authorize the City of Oakland to develop, construct, acquire, or assist in the development of, up to 13,000 low-rent residential units in social housing projects within the City for the purpose of providing affordable rental housing be adopted?

Oakland already provides grants and loans to organizations that develop affordable housing in the city
These organizations are non-profit groups, which in many cases own and manage the developments
The 13,000 units authorized by Measure Q would be "social housing," which by definition would accommodate low-income, very low-income, and extremely low-income residents. Oakland needs 13,000 affordable housing units to eliminate its deficit and meet the state's affordable housing goal by 2031

City of Richmond - Measure P - Rent CPI Cap --- VOTE NO
Should the city of Richmond further limit annual rent increases for rent-controlled units?

Measure would amend the city’s rent-control ordinance
LImit annual rent increases for rent-controlled units to 3%, or 60% of the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less
The current Annual General Adjustment for 2022 is five point two (5.2%) percent

ARGUMENT AGAINST - The vast majority of Richmond rental providers are small mom-and-pop owners, many with immigrant and blue-collar backgrounds. Measure P would prevent them from keeping up with rising costs, and saving for major repairs. Inflation pressure and complicated regulations have already caused many small rental housing providers to sell their properties, often to big corporations — or to just stop renting altogether. Measure P would only exacerbate this situation, while directly hurting renters. Additionally, Richmond has only met 50% of its state-mandated housing targets. That’s in part because the city’s strict rent control and expensive regulations make it financially less feasible to build rental units. The short housing supply is the reason for high rents. Measure P would intensify our housing shortage, make it harder to meet affordable housing targets, and increase rents in the long run.
VOTE NO - EBRHA, CalRHA, and NAA Oppose this measure.

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LEGAL FUND CONTRIBUTION

The Legal Fund helps EBRHA fight for the rights of property owners and work on additional rental housing industry issues. This fund directly supports our daily advocacy and continued education efforts, to ensure that your rental business is supported and your voice as a property owner is heard.

EBRHA-PAC CONTRIBUTION

The political efforts of the East Bay Rental Housing Association come from the Political Action Committee (EBRHA-PAC). The EBRHA-PAC is a nonprofit and nonpartisan committee dedicated to supporting local ballot measures and candidates that have a positive impact on the rental housing industry.

Potential Taxes to Housing Providers for Current Oakland Ballot Measures - Click to View

EBRHA BALLOT MEASURE GUIDE

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