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Politics & Government

Affordable Housing Will Be Preserved, Incumbents Say

John Heilman assured residents at a meet and greet that he is an advocate of affordable housing, while Lindsey Horvath reminded voters that she is a renter and Abbe Land bemoaned the Ellis Act.

Maintaining affordable housing is the No. 1 issue in West Hollywood. That was the message delivered by the City Council incumbents at a meet and greet Wednesday night.   

Council members , and  were on hand to talk to residents at the event sponsored by the West Hollywood Heights Neighborhood Association. They are three of nine candidates running for the three City Council seats up for election on March 8.

The three all brought up the issue of affordable housing during their presentations. Heilman assured residents that he is an advocate of preserving affordable housing. Horvath reminded that she is a renter and understands the value of rent control, saying she is “dedicated to protecting the housing stock.”

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Land talked about her frustration with the Ellis Act, a state law that allows building owners to go out of the rental business and thereby evict all the tenants. She said the hardest part of her job is the “devastation that comes when people are evicted.” She said they can’t do anything about the Ellis Act, but they were looking into changing the compensation paid to evicted tenants.

All three candidates spoke of how proud they are of the city’s AAA bond rating. Land said that the city’s continuation of leadership contributed to getting that AAA rating.

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There had been some question as to whether this meet and greet could happen as it might be a violation of the Brown Act, which states that a majority of a legislative body cannot meet to discuss business unless the meeting is open and public. The trio seem to have gotten around that by speaking to the audience one at a time—Heilman went first, followed by Horvath and then Land. In fact, Heilman left the meeting entirely after his Q&A time, saying he had to go to a meeting of his condo’s homeowners association.

Residents repeatedly expressed concerns about the proposed General Plan that they say was written based on the assumption that the subway was going to come through West Hollywood. The General Plan is a working document that sets out a vision for the city's future physical development and overall character. The plan calls for larger and taller buildings near proposed subway stops. 

Several residents said they didn’t want to see taller buildings in the city. Heilman said, “in terms of height and density, I don’t think there were any plans for additional height based on the subway.” 

All three incumbents assured that while the subway was referenced often, the entire plan was not written with the subway as a guarantee. Horvath said, “I think there is a community perception of the General Plan being dependent on the subway. It doesn’t really, but I can see why people think that.” Both Land and Horvath volunteered to meet with residents, after the election, and go over the plan page by page.

When someone asked whether the General Plan should be rewritten now that it is certain the subway will not come through West Hollywood, Land said she thought it was OK to leave the subway language in.

Both Land and Horvath said they expect that light or heavy rail will eventually come to West Hollywood, but Land conceded that she might not be alive when it happened. They also both emphasized the bicycle task force, which is working on creating more bicycle lanes and encouraging people to get out of their cars and use bicycles more often.

Heilman was asked whether he would approve the new project that Centrum Properties owner Sol Barket has proposed for the Tower Records site. Heilman said he had concerns about the initial proposal and would wait until the final project is presented to make up his mind.

Horvath was asked about the video taken at the opening of Laurel Park on Feb. 18 that shows her running away when WehoNews.com editor Ryan Gierach approached her about a she had on the City Council’s agenda. Horvath said she is happy to answer any question, but she was trying to prepare for the park’s opening ceremonies when Gierach approached her. “I don’t mind answering any question,” Horvath said. “I do object to disrespectful behavior.” She said she is always open to reporters and had in fact talked to Frontiers reporter Karen Ocamb just minutes before Gierach approached her. 

After Heilman left, one resident, Jerome Cleary, asked why, if Horvath is happy to answer any question, is she running on a slate with Heilman who has a reputation for not returning phone calls and e-mails from residents. Horvath said, “I’m running with John and Abbe because I believe their leadership has served the city well.” When Cleary kept pushing for an answer, saying, “You’re running with a person who feels he doesn’t have to deal with people the way the rest of us deal with people,” Horvath was unsure how to answer. Land then jumped in saying, “How we individually deal with our job might be different. I have a philosophy about customer service.”

Along the lines of customer service, Horvath said she has gotten numerous calls about the potholes on Crescent Heights just south of the city limits. She said she repeatedly called Los Angeles Councilman Paul Koretz, whose district that stretch of Crescent Heights falls into, with requests to fix the potholes. She reported that Koretz finally responded that he had fast- tracked it and that portion of Crescent Heights was scheduled to be repaved in July. Horvath shook her head in amazement at the different concept of fast-tracking for West Hollywood versus Los Angeles.

Land stated that she is opposed to Measure A, which has a provision that would allow tall walls (super graphic billboards) along Beverly, Melrose and Santa Monica. She believes it is “an illegal initiative written to deliberately confuse voters” into thinking it will tax billboard companies. Taxing the billboard companies is not allowed under state law. She said a court will throw the tax part of the measure out immediately, leaving only the tall walls provision intact and consequently no way for the city to regulate buildings from being torn down and taller ones (for tall walls) erected.

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