CITY RENT MEDIATOR POSSIBLE; CONSULTANT TO ADDRESS MOBILE-HOME DISPUTES.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer Mobile-home park residents and managers, who have fought a year over proposed rent hikes, may find a new advocate if the city approves hiring a consultant to help resolve disputes. Under a proposal scheduled to go before the City Council on Monday Monday: see week. , the city would pay a mediator mediator n. a person who conducts mediation. A mediator is usually a lawyer, or retired judge, but can be a non-attorney specialist in the subject matter (like child custody) who tries to bring people and their disputes to early resolution through a conference. $10,000 to work with opposing sides as they prepare for a spring meeting on rent issues. ``We are hopeful that the consultant would help us with those problems,'' said Hugh Hugh (pronunced hyuu) is a male given name. It is Germanic and means "Bright in Mind and Spirit" or "Thoughtful". It is related to the name Hugin( one of Odin's ravens, who represented Thought.) The following medieval rulers were named Hugh. Pease pease n. pl. pease or peas·en Archaic A pea. [Middle English; see pea. , a resident of Friendly Village Mobile Home Park. ``Hopefully . . . we would be able to satisfy the needs of both.'' The proposal from the city's Mobile Home Rent Mediation mediation, in law, type of intervention in which the disputing parties accept the offer of a third party to recommend a solution for their controversy. Mediation has long been a part of international law, frequently involving the use of an international commission, Board asks the City Council to consider a series of changes in the rent mediation process, along with the hiring of the consultant. Most of the changes center on altering the time line for mediating disputes, including: Reducing from 40 to 30 days the length of time for residents to contest rent increases proposed by management. Reducing from seven to four days the length of time for the rent board to make its decision. Increasing from seven to 10 days the length of time for residents to appeal a board decision. Pease said residents were satisfied with the proposed time-line changes but were pressing for a series of other changes in the way the rent board resolves disputes. The rent board wants to hold a May meeting, possibly with the help of the consultant, to air other proposed changes. Last year, residents of Friendly Village lost their protest of a proposed rent increase in the park both before the rent mediation board and on appeal. The loss was costly for residents, who had to pay for the administrative judge overseeing the appeal hearing. A group was formed to collect donations to help residents in the seniors-only park, many of whom are on fixed incomes, to pay the monthly rents that average $398. City Councilwoman Barbra Williamson Wil·liam·son , Mount A peak, 4,382.9 m (14,370 ft) high, in the Sierra Nevada of east-central California. , who has worked on the mobile-home rent issue, said she had yet to decide how she would be voting on the proposals, but was skeptical of making sweeping changes in the process. ``I want to hear from everybody,'' said Williamson. ``Is the system not working now? If it's not broken, why do we want to fix it?'' UPCOMING AT CITY HALL The Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. City Council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Monday on various issues, including: A public hearing to consider NewHeart Foursquare Church's plans to expand classroom and office space, which was appealed after winning approval from the Planning Commission Noun 1. planning commission - a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments commission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle . A proposal to replace the standard street light fixtures along Madera Road with decorative fixtures. A public hearing to receive input on allocating Community Development Block Grant funds. Discussion, as the county waterworks waterworks: see water supply. district, on selecting representatives to review landscaping standards for new water tank sites. CAPTION(S): Box BOX: UPCOMING AT CITY HALL (see text) |
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