AUBURN, CA (MPG) - The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt two resolutions Oct. 8, opposing California’s Propositions 5 and 33 on the November ballot. 

Proposition 5 proposes to amend the state constitution to reduce the voter approval threshold required for local governments to issue bonds for affordable housing and public infrastructure projects from two-thirds to 55%. 

Proposition 33 is designed to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act enacted in 1995, which prohibits rent control on single-family homes and houses completed after Feb. 1, 1995. By repealing the act, the initiative would allow cities and counties to limit rent on any housing.

“More affordable housing and public-serving infrastructure are worthy goals and we remain committed to them,” said Board Chair and District 4 Supervisor Suzanne Jones. “Our goal is to create solutions that encourage building homes, rather than putting more rules in place or changing how tax money is generated.”

Oct. 8 votes come on the heels of board action Sept. 24 to adopt a resolution in support of Proposition 36. 

Though the board’s Prop 5 resolution expresses support for affordable housing and public infrastructure development, it notes concern about the proposition’s potential for increasing public debt and the property tax burden on homeowners. It goes on to say that previous bond measures for affordable housing and public infrastructure have passed with the existing two-thirds threshold.

The board’s resolution opposing Prop 33 asserts that rent control policies have been shown to reduce the availability of rental housing by discouraging new construction and investment in rental properties, leading to long-term housing shortages. 

It also calls for a different approach to California’s housing challenges - increasing affordable housing supply through incentives for development, rather than restrictive policies that may limit housing options.