By Jeff Cooper
[Editor’s Note: Mr. Cooper, mayor of Culver City, will preside over this evening’s 7 o’clock City Council meeting at City Hall, where rent control is expected to be discussed.]
I personally know and have met many renters in Culver City during my four years on the City Council. With few exceptions, they love living in Culver City, and they enjoy great relationships with their landlords.
Unfortunately, while some anomalies exist where tenants are subject to rent increases, our city’s Landlord Tenant Mediation Board is designed to deal with them. I believe any problems we may have between renters and landlords in Culver City would be better solved by working together to create more affordable housing.
I am proud of my efforts in creating more affordable housing. Culver City has created more affordable housing in the past four years than it had in the previous four decades.
I was a huge supporter of the Tilden Terrace project on West Washington Boulevard. It brought 33 new affordable housing units to Culver City. Tilden Terrace represents another step in furthering our efforts to meet obligations toward the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. Clearly the demand for units like this is enormous. We had more than 1,300 applicants for those units. Likewise, I have supported the Habitat for Humanity project on Globe Avenue, where there will be 10 more new affordable units.
These projects were conceived and realized through our Redevelopment Agency. But the state’s dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies throughout California means we need to be more creative in looking for new ways to increase our affordable housing stock. I am ready to lead the way for the creation of additional affordable housing in Culver City.
I have been in continuous discussions with our city staff about exploring inclusionary zoning, density bonuses and other efforts that would require and encourage developers of future residential housing to include a percentage of units reserved solely for those who qualify for affordable housing, while at the same time maintaining the quality of life we all enjoy in Culver City.
I do not believe Culver City is like the surrounding communities of West Hollywood and Santa Monica. There, massive apartment complexes are owned by major corporations. The landlords in Culver City are, for the most part, us – our neighbors, our friends, our families. The rents they charge help put food on the table for their loved ones, pay for education costs for their children, offset living expenses for elderly relatives, pay for the upkeep of the units they own.
I have compassion for renters looking for an affordable place to live. I also understand and respect the need for landlords to generate a viable income from the property they own. Rather than pitting landlords vs. tenants, I believe it is far more constructive and will result in a far greater benefit to our city to get pro-active in increasing our affordable housing supply. That is my goal. With your help, I will work to that end.
Mr. Cooper. A candidate for re-election in April, may be contacted at jcooper336@aol.com
