Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian has struck a deal with the politically powerful hotel workers' union to remove a measure from the March election ballot that would have required hotels to participate in a city program to put homeless residents in vacant hotel rooms. Under the agreement, the City Council would approve a new package of regulations on the development of new hotels, forcing such projects to go through a more extensive approval process.
Unite Here also has been fighting a number of hotel projects that would result in the elimination of low-cost apartments, particularly those covered by the city's rent stabilization law, which places a cap on yearly rent increases. Under the Krekorian proposal, the city would need to determine whether there is 'sufficient market demand' for a new hotel project, while also identifying whether it would have an impact on demand for housing, childcare and other services.