---
[ LOS ANGELES ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles)
# Top 7 Reasons to Oppose the Los Angeles Neighborhood Integrity Initiative
March 03 2016
Written by Shane Phillips.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
COUNTERPOINT--This November, Los Angeles is going to hold a vote on the type of city it wants to be.
The vote will be over the [Neighborhood Integrity Initiative](http://www.aidshealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Initiative-FINAL.pdf) (NII), which seeks to limit housing development in the city. Backers of the initiative claim that City Council is too beholden to developers, and that the pace of new housing and commercial development in the city is out of control. They also express concern that "mega projects" are making Los Angeles less affordable, since few new homes are being targeted at low and moderate income households.
Opponents, like myself, argue that passage of the NII will be a catastrophe for the future of the city: New housing is the only thing keeping rents from growing even faster, and anti-development advocates are making a grievous error when they view new luxury housing as a cause of rising prices, rather than a symptom of them. It will throw the baby out with the bathwater, leaving us with fewer low-income units and more expensive housing for every other resident of LA. Opponents also view the NII as a fundamentally pessimistic initiative—one which essentially asserts that Los Angeles' best days are long-since past. *([Read the rest.)](http://www.betterinstitutions.com/blog/2016/3/1/top-7-reasons-oppose-los-angeles-neighborhood-integrity-initiative#sthash.stOVROoZ.dpuf)*
*-cw*
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/114 "McKinney Campaign")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Name
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/113 "Rhonda Haymon campaign")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33562-marissa-roy-the-other-face-of-gascon)
### [Marissa Roy: The Other Face of Gascón](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33562-marissa-roy-the-other-face-of-gascon)
Los Angeles voters rejected George Gascón's progressive prosecution experiment in 2024. Now, a City Attorney candidate…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33573-airbnbs-funding-of-mayor-bass-raises-the-specter-of-a-pay-to-play-ploy)
### [Airbnb’s Funding of Mayor Bass Raises the Specter of a Pay‑to‑Play Ploy](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33573-airbnbs-funding-of-mayor-bass-raises-the-specter-of-a-pay-to-play-ploy)
ELECTION 2026 - Los Angeles has been shaken by a powerful corporation pouring money into Mayor Karen Bass’s campaign in…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33595-the-firms-that-never-lose-inside-la-countys-4-billion-settlement-machine)
### [The Firms That Never Lose: Inside LA County's $4 Billion Settlement Machine](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33595-the-firms-that-never-lose-inside-la-countys-4-billion-settlement-machine)
THE NAVARRO REPORT - Los Angeles County has paid, or promised to pay, nearly $5 billion to resolve childhood sexual abu…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/world-watch/33600-israels-fateful-election-a-nation-on-the-brink)
### [Israel’s Fateful Election: A Nation On The Brink](https://mail.citywatchla.com/world-watch/33600-israels-fateful-election-a-nation-on-the-brink)
ISRAEL ELECTION - Hardly any election in Israel’s history has carried such profound consequences. Israelis will face a…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/housing/33564-adus-a-new-weapon-for-landlords-to-create-turmoil-and-hardship-for-tenants)
### [ADUs: A New Weapon for Landlords to Create Turmoil and Hardship for Tenants](https://mail.citywatchla.com/housing/33564-adus-a-new-weapon-for-landlords-to-create-turmoil-and-hardship-for-tenants)
ADU'S - Renters Are at Risk of Losing Their Vital Parking Spaces A new and expanding issue is emerging for renters thr…
---
## [ LOS ANGELES ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33593-pricing-angelenos-out-of-their-own-city-the-great-appeal-fee-heist)### [Pricing Angelenos Out of Their Own City: The Great Appeal Fee Heist](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33593-pricing-angelenos-out-of-their-own-city-the-great-appeal-fee-heist)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33594-missing-middle-is-l-a-city-planning-chasing-money-instead-of-good-planning)### [Missing Middle: Is L.A. City Planning Chasing Money Instead of Good Planning?](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33594-missing-middle-is-l-a-city-planning-chasing-money-instead-of-good-planning)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33598-reverse-engineering-los-angeles-development-before-affordability)### [Reverse Engineering Los Angeles: Development Before Affordability](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33598-reverse-engineering-los-angeles-development-before-affordability)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33599-community-groups-challenge-proposed-pay-to-protest-fee-that-favors-developers)### [Community Groups Challenge Proposed “Pay To Protest” Fee That Favors Developers](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33599-community-groups-challenge-proposed-pay-to-protest-fee-that-favors-developers)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33590-the-new-rules-of-job-hunting-in-the-age-of-ai)### [The New Rules of Job Hunting in the Age of AI](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33590-the-new-rules-of-job-hunting-in-the-age-of-ai)