L.A. voters to decide on $1.2-billion bond for homeless housing

Los Angeles voters who persevere to the end of a busy ballot Tuesday will decide whether to tax the city’s property owners to provide housing for the homeless.

Proposition HHH, the 26th item on the ballot, would authorize $1.2 billion in borrowing to accelerate the pace at which mostly nonprofit developers build permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless people. The bonds would be repaid by a new property tax averaging just under $10 for each $100,000 in assessed valuation over 29 years.

City officials who placed the measure on the ballot say it would help fund 1,000 apartment units a year for 10 years. Los Angeles County would provide the support services for the city housing.

Following years of ineffective efforts to stem the spread of tent encampments that now dot the city, the bond measure is an ambitious approach to achieve a long-term solution. If approved, it would have little immediate effect, leaving the city and county struggling to gain traction with short-term efforts including offering services to those living on the street and finding placements in existing housing.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-bond-20161106-story.html