Gathering Long Beach Political Storm Over City Staff Proposed "Tenant Relocation Ordinance" (April 2 Council Agenda Item)

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Housing Long Beach: "We're having a hard time finding the protection parts" then later "Let's get this done. It's a start."

Mike Murchison (Small Property Owners Alliance) "This is a form of rent control whether described as this or not."

Robert Fox: "It IS rent control and "just cause eviction" by another name."

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(Mar. 27, 2019, 10:25 a.m.) -- A gathering political storm is approaching over city staff recommendations for a "Tenant Relocation Ordinance" scheduled for the City Council's April 2 meeting (previously reported by LBREPORT.com in detail here.)

The issue is a political hot button with over half of Long Beach now renters and one Council incumbent, Lena Gonzalez -- endorsed by several LB Council incumbents and Mayor Robert Garcia who've previously indicated they oppose rent control -- forced into a June 4 runoff with a free-market conservative Cudahy Councilman/Harvard-Stanford degreed CPA Jack Guerrero.

Housing Long Beach: In March 26 Facebook dispatches: "We're having a hard time finding the protection parts" then later "Let's get this done. It's a start."

Mike Murchison, lobbyist/advocate for Small Property Owners Alliance (SPOA), working with the CA Apartment Ass'n, Pacific West Realtors, Apt. of Ass'n of California Southern Cities and Better Housing For Long Beach.) In March 26 statement to LBREPORT.com, Mr. Murchison says SPOA opposes city staff's recommendations for a rent cap on property owners and city-imposed payments to tenants. "We believe this is a form of rent control whether described as this or not." He continued: "We believe voters spoke loud and clear last year in declining to support an attempted Long Beach rent control measure and an attempted statewide repeal of the long-standing Costa-Hawkins law. Just Cause Eviction removes the ability of a landlord to get rid of problem tenants thus impacting not only the landlord but the remaining tenants. We believe the ordinance proposal stemmed from conditions in 2017 through early 2018 when some syndicators/investors bought multi-unit buildings, raised rents and caused displacements. Since then, the market has changed. Long Beach vacancies are up and Long Beach rents are lower than other L.A. County beach cities. Accordingly, we believe it would be very unwise if the City Council were to take actions now that will prove harmful to needed investment in Long Beach; specifically, downtown has old housing stock thus Long Beach should be very supportive of redeveloping these buildings, so that we continue to see the vast improvements already underway for years to come."

Robert Fox, a 35+ year neighborhood activist (who opposed "crackerbox" apartment density, invested in a number of Long Beach properties and re-energized LB's "Council of Neighborhood Organizations" (CONO), told LBREPORT.com: "It IS rent control and "just cause eviction" by another name."

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