AIA|LA Executive Committee Votes to Join Affordable LA: Mend It, Don’t End It Coalition

On April 7, 2026, the Executive Committee of the AIA|LA Board of Directors voted to have AIA Los Angeles join the Affordable LA: Mend It, Don’t End It coalition — a growing alliance of housing advocates, community organizations, and design professionals committed to strengthening Measure ULA so it can better deliver on its core promise: more housing, greater affordability, and reduced homelessness.

AIA|LA represents more than 4,500 architects and design professionals in the greater Los Angeles region. We support Measure ULA’s mission and believe it urgently needs targeted, practical reform. Research from UCLA, RAND, Harvard, and UC Irvine confirms that, as currently designed, the measure is suppressing the very multifamily housing production it was created to fund. And with a Howard Jarvis-backed initiative on the November 2026 ballot threatening to repeal ULA entirely, local reform is now the only responsible path to protecting it.

Alongside our coalition partners, AIA|LA will advocate for evidence-based fixes — including an exemption for newly constructed multifamily and mixed-use properties, a cap on tax rates for non-luxury transactions, and relief for wildfire-affected property owners — that will make Measure ULA more effective, more equitable, and more durable for years to come.

If you want to get more involved in the effort to reform and improve Measure ULA, please reach out to Will Wright at will@aialosangeles.org and share your specific ideas for reforms we should prioritize.

Mend It, Don’t End It: Why Reforming Measure ULA Is the Only Path to More Affordable Housing in Los Angeles

By Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA*

When Los Angeles voters approved Measure ULA in November 2022 — with nearly 58% in favor — they were making a clear and urgent statement: our city must do more to build affordable housing, protect renters, and end the homelessness crisis. AIA|LA supported that statement then, and we support it today. The mission of Measure ULA — to generate dedicated funding for affordable housing production and tenant protections — remains as vital as ever.

That is precisely why the evidence now before us demands a response. A measure built to house Angelenos should not be suppressing the housing Angelenos need. And that is exactly what is happening.

Reform ULA Now — or Lose It Entirely

Before we address the evidence on housing production, there is a more immediate threat that every architect and housing advocate must understand: the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has turned in signatures for a statewide November 2026 ballot initiative that would repeal Measure ULA and sharply curtail the ability of more than two dozen California cities to levy similar taxes. If that initiative passes, Los Angeles stands to lose not just a reformed ULA — but billions of dollars in housing funding, gone permanently.

The most effective defense against that statewide repeal is a credible, locally-driven reform process that demonstrates Measure ULA is being made to work. The Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Measure ULA — with a deadline of April 30, 2026, to deliver recommendations — is exactly that process. Supporting and shaping its work is not a concession to ULA’s opponents. It is the surest way to protect ULA’s funding, its mission, and its future.

The Evidence Is No Longer in Dispute

Multiple independent research institutions have established a causal link between Measure ULA and declining housing activity in the City of Los Angeles. UCLA’s Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies found at least a 1,910-unit-per-year drop in new multifamily housing — an 18% decline among projects with 20 or more units compared to the 2020–2022 baseline. A separate UCLA study found that since the tax took effect, the odds of a property selling above the tax threshold have fallen by up to 50%, with non-single-family transactions — precisely the properties needed to produce new housing — declining 30–50%. Researchers at RAND, Harvard, and UC Irvine have reached consistent conclusions.

Council President Harris-Dawson acknowledged this reality when he created the Ad Hoc Committee, stating plainly that “there are things in ULA that I frankly think were not in the spirit of the voters, like taxing the building of affordable housing.” We agree — and the reforms below would bring Measure ULA back into alignment with that intent.

Opponents of reform argue that weakening Measure ULA will make housing less affordable for low-income Angelenos. We take that concern seriously — and we reject the framing. The question is not whether to fund affordable housing. It is whether a tax structure that demonstrably suppresses the construction of that housing can survive on good intentions alone. The evidence consistently says no.

The Tax Structure Does Not Match Its Reputation

Measure ULA levies a 4% tax on real estate transactions above $5.3 million, and 5.5% on transactions above $10.6 million. It was marketed to voters as a “mansion tax” — a levy on luxury residential sales. In practice, however, apartment buildings, mixed-income developments, and commercial properties routinely transact above these thresholds not because of their luxury character but because of their size and scale. A 40-unit apartment building in a working-class neighborhood is not a mansion. Taxing its sale as one is not what voters approved, and it is not helping anyone get housed.

A Pipeline on the Brink — and ULA Is Making It Worse

The March 2026 Enterprise Community Partners report illuminates how precarious Los Angeles’s housing pipeline already is. Across California, 39,880 affordable homes — fully designed, entitled, and approved across 461 developments — sit unable to break ground for lack of final capital. In Los Angeles and Ventura counties alone, 9,533 of those homes are ready and waiting, many in communities still recovering from the 2025 wildfires.

These are not speculative proposals. They have completed community engagement, secured land use approvals, and received at least partial public funding. What they lack is the closing capital to move from shovel-ready to under construction. Enterprise estimates that funding this pipeline requires $2.3 billion in state subsidies, $1.8 billion in state tax credits, and $5.8 billion in tax-exempt bonds. For every $1 of state investment, nearly $3.60 in local, federal, and private capital is leveraged — meaning California stands to lose an estimated $7.7 billion in matched investment if public subsidy doesn’t follow.

This is the environment in which Measure ULA is operating: a moment of acute statewide funding shortfall when Los Angeles is simultaneously applying a 4–5.5% transfer tax to the very multifamily transactions needed to unlock that pipeline. Enterprise also flags that fragmented financing systems already add as much as $47,000 per unit in unnecessary costs. Every additional barrier — including ULA’s current design — matters enormously to whether a project pencils out.

California Is Moving Forward. ULA Is Pulling Back.

In July 2025, Governor Newsom announced the reorganization of state government to create the California Housing and Homelessness Agency (CHHA) — a dedicated, standalone body consolidating the Department of Housing and Community Development, CalHFA, the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, and other key agencies under unified leadership. The CHHA is scheduled to begin full operations on July 1, 2026. Its explicit purpose is to streamline housing finance, reduce per-unit costs, and accelerate production toward California’s goal of 2.5 million new homes by 2030, including 1 million affordable. Enterprise estimates the coordination this new structure enables could generate $463 million in annual cost savings.
Reforming Measure ULA before the CHHA formally launches is how Los Angeles demonstrates it is ready to be the state’s most effective partner — not its most conspicuous obstacle. A city tax that deters the housing the Governor is restructuring state government to deliver is a misalignment the City of Los Angeles cannot afford.

Los Angeles Is Losing Ground to Its Own Neighbors

Measure ULA applies only within the City of Los Angeles. Every neighboring jurisdiction — Long Beach, Culver City, Glendale, Burbank, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Alhambra, El Segundo, Inglewood, and dozens more across LA County’s 88 incorporated cities — operates under no comparable tax burden. Developers, investors, and property owners are not leaving the region. They are crossing city boundaries.

When a multifamily project in the City of LA carries a 4–5.5% transfer tax at sale and the same project two miles away in Culver City does not, capital flows to the lower-friction market. Entitlements and permits follow. This dynamic is compounded by LACAHSA, the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency — a new regional intergovernmental body created by state legislation to accelerate housing production across all 88 cities in the county. LACAHSA’s funding model and regional mission reflect a growing consensus that housing solutions must function at the county scale. A city-only tax structure that unintentionally diverts investment to neighboring jurisdictions works against that regional logic.

Three Reforms That Will Make a Difference

We encourage three targeted, evidence-based reforms consistent with the recommendations before the Ad Hoc Committee:

1. Exempt newly constructed multifamily and non-residential properties for a defined period.

New housing construction is not a wealth transfer — it is the act of creating the very supply Los Angeles urgently needs. A 15-year exemption for multifamily, commercial, and mixed-use projects (defined as properties with 4 or more dwelling units) would remove the tax as a barrier to new development while preserving full revenues from the resale of existing high-value properties. Given that nearly 9,500 pipeline homes in the LA region are stalled for lack of capital, eliminating an additional transactional cost at the point of sale is not a concession to developers — it is a precondition for getting housing built.

2. Cap the maximum tax rate on multifamily and non-residential properties.

A cap on the effective tax rate for apartment buildings and commercial properties would reduce the measure’s deterrent effect on institutional investment, make the City more competitive with neighboring jurisdictions, and align Measure ULA with the state’s drive to lower per-unit housing costs — without meaningfully reducing revenues from true luxury transactions.

3. Create a temporary exemption for wildfire-impacted properties.

The 2025 LA wildfires destroyed thousands of homes and displaced tens of thousands of families. Applying a real estate transfer tax to property owners attempting to rebuild or sell out of necessity in fire-affected areas is a cruel policy and bad optics for a measure designed to help the vulnerable. A temporary, hardship-based exemption for properties in declared disaster areas — retroactive to January 2025 — would bring Measure ULA into alignment with basic principles of equity and community recovery.

Conclusion: Reform Is How We Protect Measure ULA’s Mission

There is a false framing in this debate that AIA|LA must name and reject: that reforming Measure ULA means choosing between low-income tenants and housing developers. It does not. A measure that stalls housing production, drives investment to neighboring cities, and runs counter to the state’s housing agenda ultimately fails the very tenants it was designed to protect — by keeping supply constrained, rents high, and homelessness intractable. And a measure left unreformed faces a statewide ballot initiative that could eliminate it entirely.

AIA|LA has joined the Affordable LA: Mend It, Don’t End It coalition because we believe architects have both a professional obligation and a civic responsibility to advocate for a built environment that is equitable, sustainable, and within reach of all Angelenos. The Ad Hoc Committee’s April 30 deadline is not an abstraction — it is an urgent call for every design professional in Los Angeles to make their voice heard.

* Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA, is the Director of Government & Public Affairs for the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles Chapter.  The above editorial is his opinion and not meant to represent the official view of AIA Los Angeles, its membership, or its Board of Directors. He can be reached at will@aialosangeles.org and welcomes all feedback on his opinions.

CALL TO ACTION FOR ARCHITECTS: REFORM MEASURE ULA

How You Can Make a Difference: Three Ways to Act Now

URGENT: The Ad Hoc Committee on Measure ULA dissolves April 30, 2026. You have fewer than three weeks to make your voice heard in the formal process.

AIA|LA members and LA-area architecture firms have a powerful and credible voice in this policy debate. Here is how to use it:

A. Join the Affordable LA: Mend It, Don’t End It Coalition

The Affordable LA coalition was founded by major original supporters of Measure ULA who believe the measure needs practical, targeted reform to fulfill its mission. Joining is free, takes less than two minutes, and adds the voice of the design profession to a credible alliance fighting for a stronger, more effective ULA.

Join the Coalition — Sign-Up Form

For questions about the coalition, contact reformmeasureula@gmail.com or visit www.reformula.org.

B. Share Your Recommendations with the Ad Hoc Committee on Measure ULA

The Ad Hoc Committee — chaired by Councilmember Jurado, with Councilmembers Lee and Padilla — is reviewing reform proposals under Council File 26-0088-S1. Its recommendations, due by April 30, 2026, could be placed before voters on the November 2026 ballot. This is your most direct and time-sensitive opportunity to shape the outcome.

How to engage:
• Submit written public comment to the City Clerk’s office, referencing Council File 26-0088-S1. Written comments become part of the official public record.
• Attend Ad Hoc Committee hearings in person or virtually and sign up to provide oral public comment (typically 2 minutes per speaker). Check lacity.gov for upcoming hearing dates before April 30.
• Contact committee members directly with your professional perspective. Reference specific projects, client situations, or market data that illustrate how ULA is affecting housing production in your practice.
• Share the March 27th support letter with your colleagues and clients so they understand the professional design community’s position.

Key resources:
Council File 26-0088-S1 — City Clerk Connect
March 27 Hearing Materials (PDF)
Ad Hoc Committee Report (PDF)
March 27 Committee Hearing Video

C. Provide Input to the Measure ULA Citizens Oversight Committee

The Measure ULA Citizens Oversight Committee (ULA COC) is the independent watchdog body responsible for monitoring how ULA funds are collected, allocated, and spent. It has already voted to support recommendations on changes to ULA-financed affordable housing projects — meaning it is an active participant in the reform conversation, not a passive observer.

How to engage:
• Visit the ULA COC website to review meeting schedules, agendas, and prior meeting minutes.
• Attend COC public meetings and provide oral public comment on the measure’s impact on housing production, architectural practice, and the development pipeline.
• Submit written technical input on reform recommendations, project pipeline impacts, or analysis of how the tax structure affects housing feasibility.

REQUEST TO LA-AREA ARCHITECTURE FIRMS

We Need Your Data: How Is Measure ULA Affecting Your Firm and Your Clients?

Time-sensitive: AIA|LA is compiling firm-level data for submission to the Ad Hoc Committee before its April 30, 2026 deadline. Please respond as soon as possible.

AIA|LA is building an evidence base to support our advocacy for Measure ULA reform. The strongest case we can make to the Ad Hoc Committee and the Citizens Oversight Committee is one grounded in real-world, firsthand data from practicing architects and the firms that employ them. We need to hear from you.

Your responses may be used — with your permission and proper attribution — in AIA|LA’s formal advocacy materials, public comment submissions, and communications to elected officials. Identifying information will only be shared with your explicit consent.

What We’re Asking

1. How is Measure ULA affecting your clients?

Please share specific examples of projects that have been delayed, modified, restructured, or abandoned as a result of Measure ULA. If possible, quantify the impact: How much did the tax burden alter the project’s financial feasibility? Did it change the unit count, tenure mix, or affordability targets? Did the client ultimately move the project to a different jurisdiction?

2. How is Measure ULA affecting your firm’s architectural billings?

We are particularly interested in how your firm’s billings on ULA-affected projects within the City of Los Angeles compare to billings on comparable projects elsewhere in LA County — projects not subject to the ULA transfer tax. Are you seeing a shift in where clients are choosing to develop? Is work migrating from City of LA to jurisdictions like Culver City, Glendale, Long Beach, or Pasadena? This LA city-vs.-County comparison is a powerful data point for the Ad Hoc Committee.

3. Has Measure ULA required your firm to reduce staff or lay off workers?

If your firm has experienced workforce reductions — including furloughs, layoffs, or failure to backfill departures — attributable in whole or in part to a decline in ULA-affected project work, please share that information. Include both licensed architects and support staff. The human cost of suppressed housing production is a critical part of this policy story, and one that policymakers often overlook.

4. Are any of your clients directly affected by the wildfire exemption gap?

If you are working with clients who are attempting to sell or rebuild wildfire-affected properties and face ULA tax exposure as a result, please share those details. This is one of the most compelling and sympathetic arguments for targeted reform, and specific cases will strengthen the case for a retroactive hardship exemption.

5. Any other impacts we should know about?

We welcome additional context, data, or examples that help illustrate how Measure ULA is shaping architectural practice, client decision-making, and housing production in the greater Los Angeles region.

How to Submit Your Information

Please send your responses to AIA|LA’s Director of Government & Public Affairs, Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA, as soon as possible and no later than April 25, 2026, to allow time for inclusion in Ad Hoc Committee submissions:

Via Email to: Will{@}aialosangeles.org w/ Subject line: Measure ULA Firm Impact Data

Your input will be treated with discretion and used to strengthen AIA|LA’s advocacy on behalf of the design profession and the communities we serve. We hope to hear from firms of all sizes, across all project types and neighborhoods.
Thank you for your time, your data, and your commitment to ensuring Los Angeles can build the housing its residents deserve.

Don’t Let Policy ‘Happen’ to Your Practice: Join the 2026 AIA|LA Agency Roundtables and ‘Design’ It!

Navigating the regulatory landscape of Los Angeles is often one of the most complex, time-consuming, and expensive challenges in architecture today. Projects stall, budgets inflate, and timelines stretch—often due to processes that feel out of our control.

But you do have control.

The AIA|LA Government Outreach (GO!) Committee has organized a comprehensive series of quarterly roundtables with the leadership of the three agencies that dictate the flow of your projects: Los Angeles City Planning (LACP), the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), and the Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

These sessions are not standard webinars; they are working forums designed to break down silos, modernize standards, and establish a shared culture of trust between the private sector and city personnel.

Why You Need to Be in the Virtual Room

Gain Immediate Clarity: Get ahead of major operational shifts (like Zoning Plan Check moving to LACP) before they disrupt your current workflow.

Direct Access to Leadership: Cut through the red tape and hear firsthand updates on emerging initiatives directly from General Managers and Department Heads.

Solve Specific Roadblocks: Have a project stalled by 14′ ground floor minimums or late-stage LADWP transformer placements? This is where we advocate for specific, technical code clean-ups.

Shape the Agenda: Your boots-on-the-ground experience directly informs AIA|LA’s advocacy efforts, turning your daily frustrations into actionable policy reforms.

Below is the 2026 schedule for each agency. Please RSVP via the links provided to secure your spot and ensure your voice is heard.

1. Meetings w/ Los Angeles City Planning (LACP) Leadership

Focus: The Regulatory Shift & Code Clean-Up

Our upcoming April session will dive deep into the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the Development Services Bureau, focusing extensively on the critical transition of the zoning plan check process, shifting from LADBS to LACP. Future sessions will tackle statewide housing initiatives (SB 79, AB 130), the impact of AI on compliance, and navigating the Missing Middle and Livable Communities Initiative.

2026 Schedule (Virtual via Zoom, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm)

• Tuesday, January 27 | 9:00 am – 10:30 am (in-person at LA City Hall)
• Wednesday, April 22 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – RSVP HERE.
• Tuesday, August 18 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – RSVP HERE.
• Wednesday, November 18 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – RSVP HERE.

2. Meetings w/ LA Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) Leadership

Focus: Building Codes, Streamlining, & Resilience

Connect directly with Osama Younan, P.E., General Manager of LADBS. This is the forum for architects and design professionals to clarify building code interpretations, push for permit streamlining, and discuss the implementation of sustainable building practices.

2026 Schedule (Virtual, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm)

• Monday, March 16 (1 pm – 2 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Monday, June 15 (1 pm – 2 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Monday, September 21 (1 pm – 2 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Monday, December 7 (1 pm – 2 pm) – RSVP HERE.

3. Meetings w/ LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Leadership

Focus: Powering Progress & Streamlining Infrastructure

Since 2021, we have secured critical wins with LADWP, including faster processing for ED1 affordable housing and smarter financial solutions for line extensions. Our Prime 2026 Advocacy Priority is pushing LADWP to require review and approval by the Service Planner and ESR (Field Team) during the normal Plan Check Period—avoiding the costly delays that occur when the ESR first sees a project late in the construction phase.

2026 Schedule (Virtual via LADWP’s MS Teams, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm)

• Thursday, March 5 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Thursday, May 7 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Thursday, August 13 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Thursday, November 5 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm) – RSVP HERE.

Have a specific item for the agenda? We want to hear about the specific issues, challenges, and recommendations you are facing in the field. Please email Will@aialosangeles.org to have your item added to the docket for upcoming meetings.

Advocate. Innovate. Streamline. We look forward to seeing you there.

Very truly yours,

AIA Los Angeles GO! Committee

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA
Director, Government & Public Affairs
t: 213.639.0764
e: will@aialosangeles.org
www.aialosangeles.org

*Disclaimer: The advice and perspectives shared here belong to the author and should not be considered official recommendations from AIA Los Angeles.