Mercury News: California’s ‘racist’ Article 34 remains an obstacle to affordable housing
When voters in Oakland, Berkeley and South San Francisco receive ballots in the mail next month, they’ll be asked whether their cities should be allowed to help build more desperately needed affordable housing.
The reason for seeking voters’ permission? A 72-year-old provision in the California Constitution requiring local governments to get community approval before developing, buying or funding “low rent housing” – a law voters across the state will choose whether to repeal in 2024.
Article 34, passed by a statewide ballot initiative in 1950, has blocked affordable housing for decades while creating costly hurdles for developers and local officials who want to build homes for low-income residents. The amendment was the result of a successful campaign by the state’s real estate industry, which drummed up racist fears about public housing and neighborhood integration.
“There was a time, and it still exists today because of (this provision), where it was OK to just blatantly say we don’t want Black people in our neighborhoods – and that’s the legacy of Article 34,” said Oakland City Councilmember Carroll Fife, who introduced the city’s affordable housing measure.
