California Constitution Article XXXIV - Public Housing Project Law [Sections 1 - 4]
California Constitution – Article XXXIV: Public Housing Project Law [Sections 1–4]
🏘️ Overview:
Article XXXIV of the California Constitution, added in 1950, requires that voter approval be obtained before a low-rent public housing project can be developed, constructed, or acquired by a public agency. It reflects historical opposition to publicly funded housing in some communities and has long been considered a barrier to affordable housing expansion.
📜 Section-by-Section Summary:
Section 1 – Local Voter Approval Required
"No low rent housing project shall hereafter be developed, constructed, or acquired in any manner by any state public body unless a majority of the qualified electors of the city, town or county, as the case may be, in which it is proposed to develop, construct or acquire the same, approve..."
Main provision: Requires a local ballot measure to approve public housing.
Applies to housing owned, developed, or acquired by a public agency for low-income tenants.
Meant to give local residents control over public housing projects.
Section 2 – Definitions
Defines key terms like:
“Low rent housing project”: Housing intended for low-income persons, rented below market rate.
“State public body”: Any state or local governmental entity.
“Developed, constructed, or acquired”: Any form of involvement in public housing by a public agency.
Section 3 – Elections and Procedures
Specifies how elections must be conducted:
Can be held at general or special elections.
Allows for ballot language that covers multiple projects at once or authorizes a number of units rather than specific developments.
Section 4 – Severability
If any part of Article XXXIV is found unconstitutional, the rest remains valid.
⚖️ Legal and Policy Impacts:
Barriers to Affordable Housing: Has made it harder to build low-income housing due to political resistance and election costs.
Workarounds: Some housing authorities use private partnerships or nonprofits to avoid triggering Article XXXIV.
Criticism: Widely criticized for promoting housing segregation and exclusionary zoning.
Repeal Efforts: Several efforts to repeal it (most recently 2022’s Proposition 1, formerly ACA 14) have been proposed or passed, indicating a shift in public sentiment.
✅ Status Update (as of 2024–2025):
Voters approved Proposition 1 (2024), which repealed Article XXXIV. That means local voter approval is no longer required for publicly funded affordable housing projects, eliminating a major legal barrier.
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