[Editor’s Note: Dr. Hoult, a poetess of stature, has been keenly interested in the city’s Landlord-Tenant Mediation Board for years. She says: “Two weeks ago when a City Council agenda item dealt with the dismissal of two members of the board, I brought up the need to update the ordinance.” Returning to face the Council this past Monday night, Dr. Hoult opened her remarks by reciting her latest poem.]
Mediate…Don’t Litigate
When a dispute begins, my friends
We think perhaps it will not end
Especially when participants
Won’t listen and indulge in rants
They build their grievances up high
Then look at them and breathe a sigh
To catch their breath, then escalate
With nasty thoughts and words of hate
When a dispute begins, my friends
There is a way to make it end
Don’t go to court with an attorney
Where winning is no guarantee
But bring participants together
Help them see it would be better
To improve communication
Which happens best through mediation.
At the Landlord-Tenant Mediation Board meeting last week, after a discussion about community mediation, it was suggested that I bring a proposal before the City Council.
Actually, there are two proposals that need to be considered: (1) Revision of the 1981 ordinance establishing the board, and (2) devising a process for ensuring that Culver City residents have access to mediation services for other types of dispute resolution such as neighbor/neighbor, business/business, consumer/merchant, family/domestic, and workplace related disputes.
Next week I will bring you the second proposal. So let’s first deal with the ordinance that established the LTMB in 1981 as Culver City’s answer to rent control.
First, the “Organization and Implementation Guidelines” for the board in the 1981 ordinance need to be brought up to date; dismissing trained and capable individuals because of absences from the board meetings is a waste of the city’s money and a loss of trained individuals.
Second, the LTMB was formed to deal solely with rent increases and has functioned admirably since that time. As noted two weeks ago, those serving on the board are exceptionally well trained as mediators, but the number of mediation cases has decreased over the years. If the ordinance can be changed to allow the LTMB to deal with other landlord-tenant issues in addition to rent increases — such as eviction, garbage disposal, noise abatement or pets — another avenue for settling disputes will be available to our community.
The same source of federal funding may offer an opportunity to provide additional mediation in landlord-tenant disputes. The LTMB would remain under the jurisdiction of the Housing Office, which has done an excellent job in the past and, I’m confident, would continue to do so if the responsibilities of the LTMB are expanded.
I would like to suggest that the Council consider having the City Attorney’s office and the Housing Office in the Community Development Dept. look at what can be done to update the ordinance.
That way, the LTMB can better serve Culver City and ensure that federal funding can be used for expansion of the responsibilities of the LTMB, beyond rent increases, to dealing with other landlord-tenant issues.
Dr. Hoult may be contacted at HOULTight@aol.com
