[img]1307|right|Vice Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells||no_popup[/img]On the dicey topic of rent control, Vice Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells, perhaps the most liberal member of the City Council, says “there should be some sort of protection for renters, more than we have today.
“But we should not follow the Los Angeles or Santa Monica models,” she says.
The vice mayor suggests “something specific to Culver City that doesn’t have the pitfalls other cities have experienced.
“Those other models date back to the 1970s and ‘80s. But times have changed. The economy has changed.
“However,” said Ms. Sahli-Wells, “what hasn’t changed is the need. We know people need affordable housing.
“Unfortunately, with the end of the Redevelopment Agency (three years ago next week)…
“Let me put it this way,” she said. “If we had had redevelopment (last summer when the rents abruptly were raised by huge amounts in two buildings where two tenants died suddenly just after the increases), the city would have had an alternative.
“We have our rental assistance program, and there is Section 8. We could have helped the people who needed it most.
“Right now,” Ms. Sahli-Wells said, “we are not in that position anymore because of the loss of redevelopment.
“I met last week with (state Sen.) Holly Mitchell to talk about what we can do about affordable housing. She is committed to finding a way to save affordable housing.
“I know the question was about rent control,” said the vice mayor. “But this is in the same family.
“It is heartbreaking to me that we, as a city, have nothing to offer these renters who really got a hard deal.”
(To be continued)
