BAN ON CONDO CONVERSIONS URGED.Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer Tired of waiting for the entire City Council to act on the decline of affordable rental housing, two council members have proposed temporary bans in their districts to halt apartment demolitions and condo conversions Generally stated, a condo conversion is a process of entitling an income property or other lands currently held under one title to convert from sole ownership of the entire property (which often already is a multi unit property) into individual for sale units. . Councilman Alex Padilla Alex Padilla is a politician in California. He was elected as the State Senator for the 20th District of California in November 2006 and was inaugurated in early December. In order to enter the Senate he had to resign as Councilman for the 7th District on the Los Angeles City last week proposed a temporary moratorium on the conversion of rental units into for-sale units in the northeast San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . And Councilman Bill Rosendahl Bill Rosendahl is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing Council District 11, including the communities of Brentwood, Del Rey, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Palms, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Venice, West Los Angeles and Westchester. today will urge a similar one-year prohibition for his Westside district. ``To flip something that's already existing housing to condos doesn't solve our housing problem; it just changes the type of people who live in the housing,'' said Rosendahl, whose beachside beach·side adj. Situated on or along a beach. district has lost more than 3,000 rent-controlled units in the past five years, and seen more than 1,000 units converted to condominiums. ``The numbers start suggesting that if we don't do something now, we're going to lose the middle class and affordable housing in the 11th District.'' The City Council is under increasing pressure to act from affordable-housing advocates and labor organizations. The influential Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Federation of Labor pushed for a moratorium in a letter sent to Councilman Ed Reyes Ed P. Reyes has served on the Los Angeles City Council since April 2001. A native of Northeast Los Angeles, Councilmember Reyes represents many of the neighborhoods he grew up in including Lincoln Heights and Cypress Park. , who heads the council's Planning and Land Use Committee. ``At a time when wages are not keeping pace with escalating rents, forcing working people to pay a higher and higher percentage of their income to housing, it is imperative that the City Council take these steps to help ensure existing affordable housing is not lost to condo conversions and demolitions,'' county Federation of Labor chief Maria Elena Durazo Maria Elena Durazo is the current executive secretary–treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. She was appointed the interim executive secretary–treasurer following the resignation of Martin Ludlow in February 2006, and was voted as the permanent wrote. Los Angeles has lost more than 11,000 rent-controlled units during the past five years, as developers evict tenants to demolish buildings to construct condos or convert existing apartments into for-sale units. After holding public hearings in May, the City Council's Housing and Planning committees have been considering regulations to limit condo conversions. But real-estate industry professionals warn that a moratorium will choke off the supply of reasonably priced for-sale housing. ``Condo conversions are the answer, in part, to affordable homeownership. When people can't afford to buy a house in L.A., this plants the seed,'' said Arnie Corlin, director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. Corlin and others also said the condo-conversion market appears to be cooling, due to higher interest rates and fewer speculators, and that could diminish the demand for a moratorium. But Padilla and Rosendahl believe they need to act now. ``Condominium condominium In modern property law, individual ownership of one dwelling unit within a multidwelling building. Unit owners have undivided ownership interest in the land and those portions of the building shared in common. conversions not only create an inconvenience for affected tenants, but often present serious financial challenges and disruption of the family and community network,'' Padilla's motion said. ``Residents in the northeast San Fernando Valley and 7th Council District have an urgent need for protections from displacement until the appropriate course of action citywide is established.'' kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 |
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