Corporation Criticism

Sam Kaplan’s column (Feb. 1) referring to the rehabilitation of the lovely bungalow at 2302 5th St., Santa Monica, needs clarification.

The former owner of the property was unable to obtain an exemption from rent control for his burnt-out building, and due to unreasonably low rents, was forced into foreclosure.

The Community Corp., with no apparent difficulty, was able to get the building out of the clutches of the rent board regulations. Using the foreclosed equity of the former owner, and unlimited public funding, the corporation rehabilitated the building. The Community Corp. was able to obtain rents far in excess of anything the rent board would allow the private owner.

The Community Corp. using primarily government funds, and responsible only to itself, acts like a vulture, destroying and depriving hapless persons of their property, thus completing the cycle of unreasonable punitiveness originally initiated by the Santa Monica Rent Control Board.

R. SCHULMAN

Santa Monica