Bel Air and Holmby Hills residents voting in Los Angeles will weigh several city ballot measures Tuesday, Nov. 3. Three would increase the sales tax, reshape neighborhood planning appeals and provide transfer-tax relief for Palisades Fire survivors.
All three measures need a simple majority to pass. Polls close at 8 p.m.
Here is what each measure would do.
Measure FD: a half-cent fire department sales tax
Measure FD would add 0.5% to the city sales tax, raising the rate from 10.25 cents to 10.75 cents per dollar spent, according to the Los Angeles Times. The increase would generate an estimated $345 million a year for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The firefighters' union, United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112, placed the measure on the ballot after the January 2025 wildfires, Patch reported. LAFD has about 3,400 firefighters across 106 stations, a level unchanged since the 1960s, according to the union.
The tax has no sunset date. If approved, it could take effect as early as April 1, 2027, and would remain until voters repeal it.
Critics call it the third sales tax hike since 2024, following LA County increases for homelessness and healthcare. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association estimates Measure FD would cost an average of $86 per person and $345 for a family of four each year.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League said it would spend millions opposing the measure. LAPPL President Richard Mendoza told City News Service the permanent tax is "problematic" because it would push the city to the state sales-tax cap, leaving no room for future emergency revenue.
UFLAC President Doug Coates told the LA Times the opposition was "a bad idea," according to Patch. If approved, a five-member citizens' oversight committee would monitor spending.
Charter Amendment PL: one appeals board replaces seven
Charter Amendment PL would consolidate the city's seven volunteer Area Planning Commissions into a single Neighborhood Appeals Commission, according to LAist.
Those seven boards currently hear appeals on hillside developments, liquor licenses and small-business projects. Each has five members, for 35 commissioners total. The new body would have at least seven members.
For Bel Air and Holmby Hills homeowners, the change is direct. Hillside development appeals that now go to a local area commission would instead go to the single citywide board. Supporters say one board would produce more consistent rulings. The LA Times reported that under the current system, one commission could reject a hillside project while another approves a similar one.
The amendment would also set deadlines: planning boards get 30 days to act on City Council decisions, and the council gets 21 days to hold a final vote on planning decisions. Miss the deadline, and the planning decision stands.
One significant change: general plan amendments recommended by the mayor and City Planning Commission that the council does not schedule for a vote within 75 days would be automatically approved. Under current rules, they are automatically denied.
Matthew Szabo, the city's administrative officer, estimated the consolidation would save $360,000 a year in staffing costs, according to LAist. No formal opposition has been filed, according to the LA County registrar.
Proposition TE: mansion-tax exemption for fire victims
Proposition TE would grant a five-year exemption from the city's mansion tax for Pacific Palisades homeowners whose properties were damaged or destroyed in the January 2025 wildfire, according to LAist.
The mansion tax, formally Measure ULA, levies a 4% transfer tax on LA property sales above $5.4 million and 5.5% on sales above $10.9 million. A Palisades resident selling a fire-damaged lot for $6 million would owe $240,000 under the current tax, the LA Times reported.
The exemption would apply only to owners of record as of Jan. 7, 2025, the day the fire started. It would also refund homeowners who already sold and paid the tax, according to the LA Times.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades and spearheaded the measure, said when the council voted in July to place it on the ballot that her constituents are not selling "because they want to," according to LAist.
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez voted against placing Prop. TE on the ballot. She said the exemption should not apply to "LLCs, investors or people with a portfolio of properties," and that the council "had the opportunity to write those protections into this ordinance, and we didn't," according to LAist.
No one filed a formal argument against the measure, according to the City Clerk. Szabo estimated Prop. TE could reduce Measure ULA revenues by $35 million to $66 million.
A note for Beverly Hills residents
Beverly Hills is a separately incorporated city. Measure ULA does not apply to properties within Beverly Hills city limits, according to real estate site Grey Square. However, properties with a Beverly Hills mailing address that sit within the City of Los Angeles boundary are subject to the tax.
Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by county election officials by Nov. 10. Ballots returned to a vote center or official drop box must be deposited by 8 p.m. Election Day.
