Renters Alliance – The Voice of Multifamily Residents in Beverly Hills Since 2017

Participation 101: What We Took Away from the Sixty Hotel Hearings

July 2, 2021July 3, 2021 Mark Elliot

The Planning Commission in June permitted Sixty Hotel to continue rooftop operations into the wee-morning even though residents near the hotel at Wilshire and Crescent voiced concern about noise from the rooftop bar and dining. And commissioners agreed to allow the hotel to continue operating without any new restrictions. Arguably commissioners tried to balance the interests of the city, the hotel and the residents in good faith. Yet it left neighbors feeling unheard and unhappy. What can we learn from the Sixty Hotel hearings?

Explainer

[latest news update]

February 22, 2021September 13, 2021 Mark Elliot

If you expected to stream online the Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission meeting today at 6 pm you might have been surprised to see a different meeting was broadcast. Once that meeting ended, the streaming feed picked up an old city meeting. If you called the listen-only phone line (888-468-1195) to listen in — as indicated on the agenda — you also heard the audio from those meetings. After 7pm we called the comment line to find out when the meeting would begin. Turns out it HAD started at 6 pm. “You have to scroll down to see it,” we were told, but we’ve never had to scroll down to see a meeting streamed live. As for the listen-only phone line, staff seemed surprised the RSO meeting audio was not provided. “I’ll let them know.” OK then! More time wasted on this commission….

News

RSO Commission Special Meeting: Moratorium and Relocation Fees

September 12, 2021September 12, 2021 Mark Elliot no-fault moratorium, relocation fees, Rent Stabilization Commission, rent-increase moratorium

The Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission will hold a special meeting on Monday, September 13 at 6 pm to discuss COVID–19 moratoriums on no-fault eviction and rent increases as well as potential amendments to the rent stabilization ordinance concerning relocation fees. It is a special meeting because the last regular meeting was cancelled. And it is carryover business because both issues have already been discussed but not resolved.

News

Sixty Hotel Permits Up for Council Review on Tuesday

September 12, 2021 Mark Elliot Sixty Hotel

On September 14th City Council will formally review a Planning Commission decision to allow Sixty Hotel to continue to keep its rooftop open until 2 AM on weekends and until midnight on weekdays. Despite neighbor complaints the Planning Commission declined to impose any additional restriction on hours or occupancy. So neighbors took their complaint to city hall in July and council agreed it warrants further discussion. Let’s look at the issues going into Tuesday’s evening meeting.

Commentary

It is Premature to End COVID-19 Tenant Protections

August 31, 2021 Mark Elliot no-fault moratorium, Rent Stabilization Commission, rent-increase moratorium

The Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission on September 1st will likely decide whether to recommend to City Council that tenant

News

RSO Commission to Discuss Modifications to COVID Emergency Order

August 31, 2021August 31, 2021 Mark Elliot no-fault moratorium, Rent Stabilization Commission, rent-increase moratorium

The Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission has been busy since it was reconstituted in August with new tenant representatives. The commission first recommended bringing to an end the city’s moratorium on eviction for nonpayment. Then it took tentative steps toward allowing a double rent increase while trying to cushion the impact on tenants. Now at the upcoming September 1st meeting the commissioners will decide whether to end or amend the other emergency tenant protections: the moratoriums on rent increases and no-fault evictions. Is it time for those protections to end?

News

Relocation Fees Come BACK to RSO Commission

August 29, 2021August 30, 2021 Mark Elliot relocation fees, Rent Stabilization Commission

Relocation fees returns to the Rent Stabilization Commission for more discussion at the upcoming September 1st meeting. The commission is discussing it because City Council tasked the commission with making a recommendation as to what, if any, change should be made to the fees provided to tenants when they are evicted due to no fault of their own. But the commission has grappled with this complicated issue four times already. Will any recommendation emerge from this next go-around?

Commentary

Governor Gavin Newsom Must Not Be Recalled

August 27, 2021August 31, 2021 Mark Elliot 2021 gubernatorial recall, Gavin Newsom

On September 14th voters will answer the question that could change the direction of the Golden State: Should we recall Governor Gavin Newsom? For those of us who rent housing the answer is NO. This governor has been there for us. He signed legislation to extend rent control throughout the state and wrangled the legislature to send to his desk not only one eviction moratorium but three of them. Whatever one thinks of masks and mandates it seems clear that the governor has put public health at the forefront of the state’s response to the pandemic. In my book that alone is a ground to oppose a recall.

News

Next Up for Rent Stabilization Commission: Moratoriums on Rent Increase and No-Fault Eviction

August 14, 2021 Mark Elliot no-fault moratorium, Rent Stabilization Commission, rent-increase moratorium

The moratorium on rent increases and the moratorium on no-fault eviction will return to the Rent Stabilization Commission in September for additional discussion and a likely recommendation to the city council to end or amend those COVID-era tenant protections. Indeed commissioners at the last meeting seemed ready to end the moratorium on rent increases as soon as October. Here’s what transpired. Will commissioners also give the nod in September to allowing no-fault evictions to proceed?

News

RSO Commission Recommends Moratorium on Eviction for Nonpayment to End

August 10, 2021August 11, 2021 Mark Elliot COVID-19, eviction moratorium, Rent Stabilization Commission

The Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission has recommended that city council sunset our local moratorium’s prohibition on eviction for nonpayment as soon as September 30th. The recommendation was suggested by the Apartment Owners Association and supported by landlord representatives on the commission and it passed by a vote of 4-2. If city council agreed then we could see local tenant protections end as soon as Sacramento decides to sunset its own moratorium. Will the commission follow with a recommendation to end the prohibition on rent increases and no-fault evictions too?

News

Relocation Fees Up for Discussion at RSO Commission AGAIN

August 4, 2021August 4, 2021 Mark Elliot relocation fees, Rent Stabilization Commission

Our newly reconstituted Rent Stabilization Commission will discuss the relocation fee again. Pursuant to direction from city council, the commission is to make a recommendation to council concerning the fee schedule. Today it ranges from $7,000 to $16,000 depending on the size of the unit and the tenant. The fee is paid compensation to Beverly Hills rent-stabilized tenants when they are involuntarily terminated for reasons described in our rent stabilization ordinance. Are the fees too little, too much, or about right?

Commentary

AB 889: More Transparency on Rental Housing Providers

July 21, 2021August 14, 2021 Mark Elliot AB 889, Libby Markowitz

Assembly Bill 889 introduced by Assemblymember Gipson in February would require landlords who hold rental property in the name of a corporation or limited liability company to identify the beneficial owners to the California Secretary of State. Renters Alliance supports full disclosure of ownership interests and so does Beverly Hills: the city’s legislative liaison committee agreed to support the bill in Sacramento. Let’s take a look at AB 889 and why we support it.

News

City Council Agrees to Discuss Sixty Hotel Permit Renewals

July 18, 2021September 8, 2021 Mark Elliot city council call-up, Planning Commission, Sixty Hotel

The Beverly Hills Planning Commission has allowed Sixty Hotel to continue rooftop activities for up to 165 visitors until as late as 2 a.m. within earshot of hundreds of multifamily households living near the hotel at Wilshire & Crescent. Planning Commissioners were not persuaded by residents who cited past problems with rooftop noise and expressed their concerns with future hotel compliance with conditions of operation. No new restrictions on hours of operation or occupancy were added. Update: City council has scheduled for September 14th a formal review of the commission decision. Stay tuned!

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