Outgoing Council Calls for Rent Control Law : Housing: Recalled members pledge to hold public hearing. Final decision will rest with new council to be elected in March.

The City Council this week approved the first of a series of steps that could lead to a rent control law in Bell Gardens, where 77% of the residents are tenants.

The council voted 4 to 0 Monday to draft an ordinance that would mandate how much rent landlords can charge, and ordered that a public hearing be scheduled to debate rent control before such a law is passed.

However, because four of the five council members were recalled from office in December and must give up their seats in March, the final decision on whether to adopt rent control will be left to a new council that will be elected and take office this spring, City Atty. Peter Wallin said.

Most of the 10 candidates who have filed papers to run in that election--including the council’s harshest critics--said they support rent control, but several accused the council of brazenly trying to score political points by championing an issue that is sure to have popular support.

Council members refused to discuss the issue and voted without comment.

Councilman Allen Shelby, who owns seven rental units, abstained from the vote.

In a report to the council, Deputy City Atty. Sandra Pettit said rent control is needed in the city of 43,000 because there is a shortage of affordable housing and a growing number of absentee landlords. The combination, she said, has forced tenants to pay exorbitant rents for shoddy housing. According to U.S. Census figures, the median rent paid by Bell Gardens tenants is $542 a month--higher than in several neighboring cities.

Pettit said rent control would establish a ceiling on how much a landlord can charge and also force landlords to keep their property in good condition. Other recommendations include:

* Roll back rents to the rate charged in September, 1991. Pettit said the proposal would protect tenants from rent increases imposed by landlords after they heard that the council was discussing rent control.

* Establish a system by which rent increases would be tied to increases in the consumer price index, allowing landlords to keep pace with inflation.

* Exclude new construction from rent control ordinances to encourage development.

* Prevent landlords from raising rents if property does not meet building, health and safety codes.

* Exempt landlords who have three or fewer units on a single lot.

* Establish a rent control board, appointed by the council, to oversee rent control regulations, hear complaints and hold hearings to ensure that tenants and landlords have a fair agreement.

The drive for rent control has been led by Councilwoman Rosa Hernandez, the only council member not targeted for recall. Hernandez said she wants to push a rent control ordinance through before her colleagues leave office because she fears that the city’s tenants would be exploited by landlords who gave financial support to the recall movement.

Mayor Cunningham and council members Shelby, Letha Viles and Douglas O’Leary were recalled from office Dec. 10, a year after they approved controversial zoning changes. Critics said the zoning changes would drive poor, mostly Latino, residents from the town. City officials said absentee landlords orchestrated the recall because they feared that zoning changes would eat away their profits.

In an interview last week, Hernandez said a rent control ordinance is needed to protect tenants from a new council that may sympathize with landlords.

However, Deitch--who owns about a dozen rental properties in the city--as well as candidates Josefina Macias and Rudy Garcia, said at Monday’s meeting that they would support rent control if they are elected. All three, and candidate Frank Duran, are endorsed by the No Rezoning Committee that led the recall.

City leaders will hold the first public hearing to discuss the proposed rent control ordinance from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Bell Gardens High School auditorium.

Recalled Councilman Allen Shelby will try to regain his seat. Page J9

Rent Comparisons

This chart compares the percentage of housing units in Bell Gardens and neighboring cities that were occupied by renters, and the median rent paid per month in 1990.

Renter Median Occupied Rent Bell 69% $514 Bell Gardens 77% 542 Commerce 51% 494 Cudahy 83% 560 Downey 47% 602 Huntington Park 71% 482 Maywood 69% 490 Montebello 51% 574 South Gate 51% 508 Countywide -- 570

Source: U.S. Bureau of Census