Mercury News: Prop 5 would make it easier to pass Bay Area spending bills for housing, transit

Image of San Francisco hills for Prop 5 article

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Development is seen along Clement Avenue from this drone view in Alameda, Calif., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. The Alameda Marina is being revitalized and restored as The Launch is constructed. This project will include 360 units, including 49 affordable housing units. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

When local governments want to build big new infrastructure — affordable housing complexes or transit stations, for example — state law requires them to go to voters to authorize a public spending bond that would be repaid through new property taxes.

These local bonds can only go forward if they get 66.7% of the vote.

Proposition 5 on the November ballot asks voters to lower that threshold to 55%, which would make it easier to fund and build many much-needed infrastructure projects around the Bay Area and the state.

“Right now, a minority of voters — 33% — make the decision for local communities,” said Amie Fishman, executive director of the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, which is backing the measure. “What’s important is to have a more democratic approach that empowers local communities and doesn’t allow a small group to block the way.”