EDITORIAL CONDO CRAZED CITY HALL NEEDS TO LOOK AT UNDERLYING CAUSE OF CONVERSION BOOM.

THE buzzword du jour in Los Angeles City Hall seems to be ``condo conversions.'' Spooked by news stories about old apartment buildings being converted into condos -- leaving old-time renters high and dry -- City Council members have jumped from one ill-considered plan to another, all to give the appearance that they're doing ``something'' about the matter.

First, Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Alex Padilla suggested bans on condo conversions for their districts only -- a classic example of short-sighted L.A. politics, with no thought given to the bigger planning needs of the city.

Then, on Tuesday, a council subcommittee looked into other ways to deal with landlords trying to sell off their properties while the real-estate market is still hot. One idea is to triple the fee for condo conversions in buildings with more than 11 units from $500 to $1,500 a unit. That way, the extra $1,000 could go to displaced renters, presumably to help them find a new place to live.

That sounds nice, but it's no answer to the underlying problem of an insufficient housing stock and a burgeoning population. Jacking up the price of condo conversions would only make homeownership in L.A. even more expensive. And while $1,000 might be a nice windfall for displaced renters, it would do little to affect their long-term housing predicament.

What's needed here is more than feel-good, useless policies, but a real, comprehensive look at how the city plans for its housing and development needs. L.A. has never had a coherent growth plan, and that shortcoming is felt daily on our crowded roads, in our exorbitant housing prices and in a dwindling apartment stock.

The problem isn't condo conversions. It's a lack of planning. And no amount of symbolic politicking is going to fix that.