EVICTIONS HARDER UNDER NEW CITY LAW LANDLORDS MUST SHOW THEY'RE NOT GETTING BACK AT TENANTS.

Byline: Nick Grudin Staff Writer

GLENDALE - An ordinance giving tenants more protection was narrowly adopted by the Glendale City Council after a roller-coaster meeting Tuesday night.

The council voted 3-2 in favor of the new law, which is meant to curb retaliatory evictions.

Apartment owners said the ordinance will make it more difficult for landlords to evict nuisance tenants.

The issue arose about a year ago after Glendale tenants voiced worries that retaliatory evictions were on the rise.

Since then, the council has considered ways to fix the problem, and on Aug. 13 introduced the ``just cause'' ordinance that would make it harder to evict tenants who complain about their living conditions.

Tenants were up in arms because they said making complaints could lead to evictions.

Landlords argued that existing state laws are already sufficient to deal with unlawful evictions and no new city ordinance is necessary.

Anything beyond current state laws, they said, would make it unreasonably difficult to evict nuisance tenants.

``The measure ... will drastically affect the balance between tenants and landlords,'' said Pasadena lawyer Frank Whitehead. ``The value of the property will not keep pace.''

One of the primary changes under the new ordinance is that landlords will have to prove they are not retaliating if an eviction occurs within six months of a formal complaint from a tenant.

State law mandates that the burden of proof is on the tenant to prove that the landlord was retaliating.

Tenants feel that the ordinance will change the way that unscrupulous landlords handle evictions, and give Glendale renters some much needed security.

Council member Bob Yousefian agreed, saying, ``The day of social justice has finally arrived in the city of Glendale.''

At last week's City Council meeting, the council introduced the ordinance to be voted on, with all five members showing strong support for the new rule. Tuesday night, however, the council was not so unified.

Council members Dave Weaver and Gus Gomez reconsidered their stances in light of comments made by landlords, including worries that sex offenders would be given more security under the new ordinance.

``I'm very disappointed in some of my colleagues,'' Yousefian said at one point during the council's discussion, referring to council members Weaver and Gomez, both of whom supported delaying the decision on the ordinance.

After about three hours of comment and deliberation, the council found a way to pass the ordinance despite misgivings, changing it from an ``urgent'' vote to a normal vote, and thus demanding only a two-thirds majority instead of four-fifths required for urgency ordinances.

The ordinance will take effect Sept. 20 and is subject to amendments, which would have to be passed by the council.