Tenants Measure Rejected for Ballot

The Santa Monica City Council has rejected placing a proposed charter amendment on the November ballot to strengthen tenant protection against landlord harassment, acting instead to have the city attorney’s office write an ordinance.

The council late Tuesday split 3-3, with one member absent, on the proposed amendment. Four votes were required to place the measure on the ballot.

“After listening to the discussion, it became clear to me that this is a difficult area to legislate,” said Mayor Paul Rosenstein, who voted against placing the measure on the ballot, but introduced the unanimously approved motion to draft an ordinance.

In response to a state law that went into effect Jan. 1 permitting higher rent increases than what had been allowed under Santa Monica’s rent control law once a tenant leaves an apartment, the council approved a ordinance strengthening tenant protection against landlord harassment.

However, Santa Monica’s tenants’ rights organization, Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, proposed the charter amendment because “the current ordinance didn’t have enough teeth because of its definition of harassment,” co-chairwoman Nancy Greenstein said.

“I’m disappointed that its not going on the ballot and providing voters with the option of including it in the charter,” Greenstein said.

The council also gave its final approval Tuesday to placing a bond issue on the November ballot to finance construction of a new public safety facility, which would include an emergency operations center, police and fire department headquarters and a new jail.

Rosenstein said one reason he voted against placing the tenant harassment measure on the ballot is that it could have jeopardized passage of the bond issue, which needs a two-thirds vote to be approved.