Affordable housing not addressed

The city of Calabasas concluded its “public” Affordable Housing Workshop on Saturday without any public comment whatsoever from the citizenry. City staffers and public speakers applauded themselves and each other, yet not one private citizen’s concerns were addressed in the form of active interchange with the public.

City officials continued their self-directed accolades with their bolstering of a “Rental Registration Program” that is being circumvented by at least one apartment property owner. When this was formally brought to the attention of the city of Calabasas, the details were deliberately omitted from the city’s posturing Tenant Study.

City officials continued to taunt their commitment to affordable rents for the needed workforce. At the same time, the city has deliberately skirted and evaded the possibility of a Rent Stabilization Ordinance that would curtail and restrain attempted rent increases as much as $500 per month or a ludicrous 38 percent.

The one spokesman for the tenants in the city of Calabasas, an aggressive advocate for rent stabilization, did not attend the Affordable Housing Workshop due to the utter humiliation of a “restraining order” threatened by the city because of my efforts at bringing the apartment housing needs to the fore.

As of this writing, the city seems to have reneged on its tacit promise by the city manager to send a letter of support to the state of California in favor of giving legislative direction to the CPUC for regulation of water billing in apartment rental units which would resolve many of the dilemmas brought to the city’s attention via written petition and oral communication.

This tacit promise was suggested as an alternative if I would curtail my activities with regard to propounding a “Rent Stabilization Ordinance” (not rent control) for the city of Calabasas. Anthony L. Pecoraro President, Tenants Alignment Association