Los Angeles rental housing providers will receive ballots this month on a proposed streetlight assessment. The city’s Bureau of Street Lighting will mail ballots on Friday, April 17.

The measure is proceeding through the Proposition 218 process, which gives property owners a direct vote separate from any regular election ballot. Under that process, only returned ballots are counted. Ballots are weighted by the proposed assessment amount, meaning a weighted majority of “No” votes is required to defeat the measure. If no ballots are returned, the assessments are still levied — making participation especially important.

The city is seeking to triple the current fee. Costs vary by land use, lighting type and parcel size, with larger and multifamily properties facing higher charges. The proposal covers the city’s system of roughly 223,000 streetlights.

Fred Sutton, the California Apartment Association’s senior vice president of local public affairs in Los Angeles, said the city did not consult CAA at any point during development of the proposal. Sutton said owners should weigh more than the fee amount, pointing to what he described as “the lack of a clear plan to address those losses” from ongoing copper theft from the streetlight system.

He also noted that annual rent increases in many Los Angeles rental properties are capped below inflation, leaving owners with limited flexibility to absorb new operating costs.

Because ballots arrive by mail, property owners should confirm their mailing address on file with the city is current and watch carefully so the notice is not overlooked. Owners with questions may contact the city’s Proposition 218 Compliance Section at (213) 847-1500.