After last year’s unsuccessful bid, tenants union readies for a fight
Glendale resident Vanessa Royal received a notice in June that her property management firm, Moss & Co., would increase her monthly rent by $800.
This weekend, Royal and her husband are moving to Burbank. Royal spoke to Glendale City Council about her complaints, but she left feeling discouraged.
“I felt heard but felt like nothing was going to happen,” she said.
The Glendale Tenants Union has been organizing to place a rent-increase cap in the city through a formal measure. A previous effort to place a cap on rent hikes failed last year. Some signatures on petitions were written by unregistered voters or non-Glendale residents.
Mike Van Gorder, a founding member of the tenants union, said about 40% to 50% of the signatures collected were thrown out because of those problems.
In addition, there were discrepancies when it came to the petition form, such as who can sign it, how it has to be signed and the text in the summary.
A year later, organizers are more experienced and have more clarity about what they need to do. They have until Aug. 6 to collect the 10,000 signatures required to place the measure on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Van Gorder said the organization is aiming for 15,000 signatures, adding he doesn’t want any more hiccups.
“We’re trying to organize people who have no time and no money. So much of political action in a midsized city depends on an access to both,” Van Gorder said.
He and other union members have been outside Glendale City Hall for weeks, with tables, pamphlets and forms to collect signatures.
Union member Hayk Makhmuryan said he feels confident the ordinance will pass because the fear about rising rents is real and growing.
“I think there is a stronger sense of awareness of our ability to pressure City Council to do what they are elected to do,” Makhmuryan said.
Before they did any rallying or protesting, union members first had to get the petition’s legal terminology correct.
“This time, we started with lawyers,” Van Gorder said, adding that one of the mistakes from last year’s petition was the lack of a strongly worded petition.
“They sat down with a pre-existing rent-control ordinance,” Van Gorder said. “These are the different policy choices you need to make. We know this will be defensible. This is how you write a petition that is sound.”
The group’s suggested ordinance, known as the Glendale Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act, puts an annual cap on annual rent increases at 4%.
“Our goal is the protection of renters and the working class in the city of Glendale,” Van Gorder said.
Haykmuryan said he wasn’t as involved last year as he is now, but feels it can only happen if the people are unified.
“Collectivize the struggle because each one of us struggles individually. If my neighbor has the same struggle, then we can collectively come together,” he said.
While the tactical side of the effort is being figured out, union members are taking their issues directly to city officials.
Royal stood before council members Tuesday and told them she and her neighbor find the conditions at 1377 East Windsor Road have been poor for months, with Moss & Co. delaying or failing to fix them.
“They are limiting us to two options: move out or stay in a ... run-down apartment that has a very steep price,” Royal said.
During her speech, Royal showed the council pictures of insects in people’s apartments, plumbing issues and mold.
After Royal’s presentation, she received loud applause to which Mayor Zareh Sinanyan asked the audience to stop.
Then Sinanyan asked city staff, “As far as code enforcement is concerned, are we aware of this? Have we gone out? Because it looked pretty dramatic.”
City Manager Yasmin Beers acknowledged that correspondence about residents’ issues was received last week. Building and safety staff visited the Windsor site, she said, and a meeting with Moss & Co. management was scheduled to discuss residents’ issues.
When Sinanyan asked about the bugs and living conditions, Beers said inspections were made in three units. One unit’s issue was with mold and was more of the resident’s issue, Beers said. The other two units required follow-ups, she said.
“This council is not interested in any rent hikes,” Sinanyan said. “We don’t want them. We don’t like them. We have no control over them. This is a market economy right now, and the landlord sets these prices according to the market.”
He added, “We don’t take any pleasure — actually we take a lot of displeasure in what’s happening in the city with the rent market.”
Moss & Co. officials did not return phone calls seeking their response to the issues. About two dozen people have worn red T-shirts in solidarity with the Glendale Tenants Union at City Council meetings the past two weeks.
After speeches about rent control were given, rent-control supporters walked out of the chambers to go outside and chant in support of rent control in Glendale. The room went from completely full to less than a dozen people.
Makhmuryan said such activities will happen every week. “There is no other important agenda item than rent control,” he said.
michael.livingston@latimes.com
