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THIS IS THE OPINION PAGE
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An individual's actions should be presumed private,
while a government's actions should be presumed public.
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L.A. IS A NIGHTMARE FOR MANY RENTERS
But they may become players as scarce-housing issue heats up
By Peter Dreier, Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2007
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Rising rents, mounting illegal evections and an accelerating wave of demolitions and condo conversions have made Los Angeles a nightmare for many renters. . . .
About three-quarters of the city's 800,000 rental apartments are still regulated [under L.A.'s rent-control ordinance] . . . One tactics some landlords use to force tenants out so they can raise rents is to intimidate them. . . . During the past year, the number of these kinds of illegal evictions increased, according to tenant groups and housing lawyers.
Some landlords and developers convert apartments to condominiums to escape rent regulations. The real estate lobby contends that condo conversions . . . provide renters with a first step on the homeownership ladder.
But this is rarely the case. Converting $800-a-month apartments into $400,000 condos simply mkes the existing inventory of housing less
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affordable. . . . In the city's high-priced housing market, most renters — middle class as well as poor — can't afford to buy a home.
Faced with the prospect of being long-term renters, tenants have become better organized and bolder. . . . These groups aim to register more tenants to vote and mobilize them to support pro-tenant candidates for state and city offices. . . . Few elected officials want voters to think that they are in the pockets of the real estate lobby.
But protecting renters isn 't just good politics. To strengthen the city's business climate, L.A. needs an adequate supply of affordable housing for its diverse workforce. Housing will increasingly take center stage in city politics, and renters, who make up about 60% of L.A. residents, could become a significant player.
Dreier directs the Urban and Environmental Policy Program at Occidental College. For more of his views on L.A. housing, and some feedback to this article, follow these links.
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Ninety percent of the residents in the Palms Neighborhood Council are renters (mostly shown in light colors below, which also indicate business, commercial, school and church use). Heavier colors on the map indicates a higher percentage of homeowners. Our northwest area, where renters make up about 60 percent of the population has been excluded by the city from the Palms Council area at the behest of a Westside Village homeowners’ organization (details here). The dots on the map indicate signers of petitions to organize the Palms Council in mid-2004.  |
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Mar Vista has again slapped us in the face.
The Mar Vista Community Council board on April 10 rejected a bid by Palms President Pauline Stout to appoint a joint committee that would try to find out if Westside Village residents want to join with Palms in a certified city neighborhood council or stay with Mar Vista.
The decision was 3 votes in favor of a motion by Ken Alpern of Westside Village to form the committee and 6 votes opposed. (Westside Village's official "Area One representative” on the Mar Vista board — Roberta Schiller — joined the Mar Vistans in voting against her constituents.)
But we are heartened by the decision of the Representative Assembly of the Palms Neighborhood Council to go ahead with the public-opinion survey of our area — north of Charnock, south of National, east of the 405 and west of Overland.
Our neighborhood was joined with Mar Vista several years ago on the strength of only 12 signatures from east of the 405 (out of 12,000 residents) despite the fact that we are in different police beats and different school areas and are served by different fire stations and libraries. And, frankly, we just don't like being overseen by Mar Vistans.
The Palms council is doing some good stuff for us: It is asking the Big Blue Bus to be routed off Glendon Avenue onto Overland (between Palms and Charnock), and it has actively pushed for the installation of a new traffic signal at Charnock and Overland. Recently it financially supported the Woodbine Street block party/tree-planting and also the Big Sunday clean-up, fix-up event at Charnock Road School. And you may have seen the Palms council's colorful banners on Motor and on Overland.
The Palms–Westside Village Neighborhood Watch is canceling its July meeting, but the Palms Neighborhood Council will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 11, at 3376 Motor Ave.
Remember: Independence Day is always a good time to think about independence.
Your friends and neighbors at S-U-P-E-R
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