Yeas, Nays Speak Out on Measure A Rent Control Plan

The Laguna Beach Homeowners and Taxpayers Committee consists of a broad cross section of concerned local residents and community leaders (none of whom have any financial interest in the mobile-home parks) and owner representatives from the local mobile home parks.

We urge our fellow residents to join with Mayor Neil G. Fitzpatrick, Mayor Pro Tem Martha Collison and numerous other residents and local organizations to reject the imposition of government rent controls in our community.

The following are just some of the many important reasons to vote no on Measure A.

* A nationwide study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD No. 91-57, Sept. 30) concludes that “rent control is an ineffective method of helping the low-income families it was designed to serve.”

* According to the HUD secretary, “This report shows that rent control is another example of a failed and perverse regulatory policy. Instead of serving low-income people and stabilizing housing markets, rent control effectively subsidizes a large number of high-income families, causes the housing stock to deteriorate, and contributes to homelessness.”

* Despite this dismal record of rent controls, the city of Laguna Beach did not prepare or even request any impact or economic studies to gauge the effect rent controls will have on our community.

* The proposed Laguna Beach rent controls are even more unfair, detrimental and onerous than the controls that have been studied and deemed failures in other cities such as New York, Berkeley and Santa Monica.

* Of the 448 mobile home spaces in Laguna Beach, 43% are non-owner occupied or are used as vacation homes. Many of these individuals are wealthy.

* Measure A will provide unwarranted and costly taxpayer-financed economic benefits to individuals who do not even live or pay taxes in our community.

* Measure A will not benefit low-income or senior residents and will actually hurt them.

* Laguna Beach has many pressing public priorities and is faced with serious budget difficulties. If rent controls are imposed, our city and we taxpayers will have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in administrative and legal costs to defend this ordinance in court.

* Numerous cities have spent $300,000 or more just to administer their rent control ordinances. One oceanfront mobile home park in Los Angeles cost that city $1 million in the legal judgment alone.

* Despite these costs, mobile home rent control will not add one single unit to our city’s stock of affordable housing.

The rent control advocates don’t even attempt to debate the merits of rent control. That’s because there are none. They claim that Measure A is about “development.” Measure A is about rent control and rent control only. Furthermore, the City Council unanimously has already zoned all local mobile home parks for “exclusive mobile home use only.” No other use is permitted.

Please remember to vote Nov. 19 and vote no on Measure A. We cannot afford the disaster of rent controls in Laguna Beach.

ESTHER L. WELLS, Laguna Beach Homeowners and Taxpayers Committee