COUNCIL CREATES AGENCY TO MONITOR FOR SLUM CONDITIONS.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

The City Council voted Monday to take steps to set up a new anti-slum program in Los Angeles, including creation of a new agency with 65 inspectors who will visit 250,000 apartment units annually to identify needed repairs.

The Housing Code Enforcement Program will be funded by a $1 per month fee charged to every apartment unit in the city, which drew objections from Councilman Nate Holden as an unreasonable burden.

``It's a money-making venture,'' Holden charged, saying the city is not currently inspecting all of the buildings needing review.

However, Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg said the program is an important effort to maintain quality affordable housing in Los Angeles.

``This is a historic moment,'' Goldberg said. ``For those (properties) already in disrepair, we're going to provide an additional tool to bring them into repair and make them habitable.''

In addition to asking the City Attorney's Office to draft an ordinance creating the new inspection agency, the council action Monday also sought bids from private contractors to do a $250,000 public outreach effort on the program, and asked the attorneys to draft an ordinance allowing landlords to pass the $12 annual fee along to tenants.

The new program was recommended last year by a Blue Ribbon Committee on Slum Housing, which estimated that 150,000 units of substandard dwelling exist in Los Angeles and the city is not properly inspecting apartments to head off problems.

There are an estimated 581,000 apartment units in the city.

The program was opposed by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles as an unnecessary additional financial burden. The group estimated only about 3 percent of apartments in the city are substandard.