Local News in Brief : Rent Hike Is Protested

More than 100 residents of the Gardena Trailer Lodge have filed with the City of Gardena for rent mediation--the first step in their effort to fight rent increases that they say are unfair.

Residents of the trailer park, at 16949 S. Western Ave., presented the requests Tuesday at City Hall, said City Manager Kenneth Landau. About 50 residents attended a council meeting in January to protest the increases, which they said would mean financial hardship, especially for senior citizens living on fixed incomes.

In January, Charles Goldman, the park’s owner, notified residents by mail of the rent increases, which range from $15 to $129 and would become effective April 1.

Of the park’s 183 residents, 110 submitted rent mediation requests, said Mitzi Allstott, a spokeswoman for the group. She said the residents want the cases to be heard collectively. Landau, however, said the city had received only 105 requests.

In the rent mediation process, Landau said, tenant and landlord present their cases to a nine-member mediation board. If they do not agree with the board’s decision, the next step is to argue the case before an independent arbitrator. Both parties must agree to be bound by the arbitrator’s decision. A date for the mediation hearing has not been set.