Los Angeles Council Advances Ballot Measure to Reform Mansion Tax

The Los Angeles City Council voted 9-5 on Wednesday to advance a potential November ballot measure that would scale back the city’s mansion tax, known as Measure ULA. The proposal would ask voters to exempt newly built multifamily and mixed-use residential buildings from the tax for their first 10 years, a change backers say would help revive apartment construction in the city.

Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said the tax has coincided with a decline in affordable housing construction in his district since Measure ULA took effect in 2023. He argued that housing starts are now at their lowest point during his time in office and pointed to nearby cities such as Inglewood and Gardena, where comparable projects are not subject to the tax.

Opponents of the proposal said it is too early to conclude the tax is driving developers away. Councilmembers Ysabel Jurado, Imelda Padilla, Monica Rodriguez, Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez voted against moving the measure forward. Even with the council’s action, the proposal is not yet on the ballot and would require another vote to finalize language before it could qualify for November.

Reform advocates welcomed the council’s decision, though they said further changes are still needed. Miguel Santana, president of the California Community Foundation, said the vote was another step toward reforming Measure ULA in a way that could support new housing construction while preserving a funding source that the city relies on. The council also advanced a separate potential measure that would exempt Pacific Palisades homeowners from the tax if they sell properties after the January 2025 Palisades Fire.