March 27, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 27, 2026
As new report shows how proposed changes would give anti-homelessness money to the wealthy and get nothing in return, supporters mount guerilla theater “tug-of-war” outside City Hall between the people and the billionaires
LOS ANGELES, CA–Today more than 100 community members rallied outside City Hall before the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on United to House Los Angeles (Measure ULA). United to House Los Angeles (UHLA) coalition members chanted “Protect ULA”, waved signs and staged a “tug-of-war” between the people and billionaires outside the City Hall steps. They called on the Ad Hoc Committee to preserve Measure ULA, oppose the Taxpayer Deception Act backed by Howard Jarvis and support ACA13 to protect majority rule and ensure voter-approved services are upheld across California.
A new report issued by the real estate advisory consultancy BAE Urban Economics disproves the false narrative that Measure ULA has slowed market rate housing construction. At the same time, the Los Angeles City Council has established an Ad Hoc Committee on United to House Los Angeles to evaluate ULA’s impact.
“With Measure ULA, voters said that it’s time for the rich to finally pay their fair share, and created a billion dollar fund to address the housing crisis paid strictly by millionaires and billionaires,” said Joe Donlin, executive director of the United to House LA coalition. “It’s foolish to ask the voters to give that fund away to developers building high-rent buildings to flip.”
“We just witnessed a physical representation of power–and what it looks like to reclaim it,” said Cynthia Bourjac, ACT-LA’s Power Building Director, speaking about the tug-of-war demonstration. “The wealthy and corporate class have gotten too comfortable with buying our housing system while the majority of us are stuck struggling in an increasingly expensive housing and rental market.”
“ULA was not designed to maintain the status quo housing systems–it was designed to change it, and it’s working. It creates resources for tenant protections, homeless prevention and community ownership strategies that have never been funded before at this scale in LA,” said Jamie Penn, board member of the Beverly & Vermont Community Land Trust. “Los Angeles has an opportunity to lead nationally on equitable housing policy. This is not the time to retreat.”
“I defend ULA because people like me need stability and dignity,” said Antonio Martinez, a renter who was able to get help with a recent eviction through programs funded by ULA. “Housing is a right, not a business.”
The coalition calls on the council to oppose the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association’s “Taxpayer Deception Act” that would overturn Measure ULA and other invaluable local California revenue measures, and to support the passage of Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13 (ACA13) on the November ballot. ACA13 would protect majority rule in California by requiring ballot measures that impose a supermajority threshold to win supermajority votes.
“Through the California Business Roundtable, MAGA funders like Geoff Palmer and Peter Thiel underwrote the Jarvis measure to overturn ULA and slash the services that Californians depend on,” said Carla De Paz, director of organizational strategy at Community Power Collective. “If LA City Council wants to protect Measure ULA, they should oppose the Jarvis measure and support ACA13.”
Since voters approved Measure ULA, the initiative has:
- Raised $1,115,952,662 (through February 2026) to expand affordable housing and prevent homelessness.
- Advanced 795 affordable homes, with thousands more anticipated following a recent $387 million ULA-supported funding round.
- Helped 10,000+ renters remain housed through emergency rental assistance, eviction defense, and tenant-protection programs.
- Accelerated the creation of thousands of construction jobs for local workers building affordable housing in their own communities.
As of November 2025, 187 units were open at Santa Monica & Vermont; 105 units were leasing up at Rousseau Residences and Montesquieu Manor in East Hollywood’s Enlightenment Plaza; and Enlightenment Plaza’s Voltaire Villas (72 units), Peak Plaza (104 units), Grace Villas (48 units) and Alveare Family (105 units) were under construction. On the way are The Main (64 units) and Chavez Gardens (110 units).
ULA revenue can be tracked on the Los Angeles Housing Department dashboard. And here’s everything you need to know about Measure ULA.
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About United to House LA
United to House LA brings together a unique coalition from the labor movement, affordable housing developers, and social justice and community-based organizations to work on the common goals of affordable housing, homelessness prevention, tenant protection, and good-paying jobs in the city of Los Angeles. The Coalition consists of over 240 organizations that worked to pass Measure ULA on the November 2022 ballot and which continue to advocate for the implementation of one of the most progressive and transformative affordable housing measures in the United States.