Hawthorne Press Tribune
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - January 25, 2018
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Famous Hawthorne High School
Alum Makes the Grade in Visit
The legendary Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame returned to his old stomping grounds with a recent visit to his alma mater Hawthorne High School. Rectifying an old wrong, school principal Dr. Vanessa
Landesfeind changed Wilson’s “F” grade from nearly 60 years ago in a music class (for the composition “Surfin” that became the The Beach Boys’ first hit) to a well-deserved “A.” Photo Provided by
Hawthorne High
City Treasurer Ignites Lengthy Discussion
on Helping to Solve Rent Control Issues
By Derrick Deane
crappy buildings, what do you think we’re going
Rent control became a dominant topic of
to attract to our city?” Patterson asked. “We
conversation at Tuesday’s Hawthorne City
want to attract people with high incomes and
Council meeting, with many residents and
professional backgrounds [because] the higher
landlords taking a stance in regards to the
the income our residents have, the higher the
issue. While the division of proponents and
per-household income goes up -- which attracts
opponents on the issue went as expected with
nice retailers and businesses.”
landlords largely against it, the issue was once
Patterson said that if the city continues to have
again brought up due to a discussion item led
high rent with “crappy buildings,” then it would
by City Treasurer L. David Patterson.
only serve to continue to exacerbate Hawthorne’s
Patterson had sought to discuss the formation
ongoing problems with overcrowding and
of a “renter’s commission” taking the topic of
parking. He also suggested an ordinance in
rent control and placing it on an upcoming
which landlords could only raise their rents once
November ballot for citizens to vote on the
a year to “ideally cap it at 3 percent per year”
matter. Many residents were not in favor of
and “if they want to raise it by a large amount,
that idea, with the overall sentiment being that
require that they invest it into their building.”
simply placing the issue on a ballot was not
Help with relocation in the event of a
going to solve underlying problems that come
prolonged renovation as well as a longer lead
with rent issues.
time in upcoming rent hikes were also part
In his introduction of the topic, Patterson
of Patterson’s suggestions. “Imagine if in two
rephrased rent control as “rent stabilization”
months, your rent goes up $800 or you’ll be
and called for landlords to give renters a longer
on the street. It’s just not fair,” Patterson said.
notice if their rent was to be raised substantially.
“I think it would be nice to give our tenants
“In researching this issue, I realized there was
six to nine months of notice that their rent is
a difference between the issues,” Patterson said
going to go up dramatically. That way, they
of the semantics he was using to describe the
would have the opportunity to find something
issue. “Rent control prohibits rents from being
new.” Patterson said that he would also “love
increased and caps it -- and that’s not what I’m
to empower our code enforcement to crack
suggesting at all. My suggestion is to protect
down on slumlords.”
renters, crack down on slumlords, and require
The final part of Patterson’s suggestions to
landlords to operate nice buildings in our city.”
tackle rent control was to create a Renter’s
Rent in the city has gone up 20 percent a
Commission so that tenants would “have
year for the past couple of years, according to
somewhere to go to discuss some of the issues
Patterson. “Some investors are buying buildings
that are going on. As it sits right now if a
with the intentions of raising rents and by
landlord is breaking a law, our tenants have
law all they have to do is provide 60 days of
nowhere to go for help.”
notice to raise it by 10 percent or more,” he
Patterson added that renters can go to
said. “We are seeing some tenants’ rent go up
Hawthorne’s housing department, which would
every 60 days.”
direct them to the Fair Housing Rights Center.
Patterson, who has held a real estate brokers
“All the Fair Housing Rights Centers will do
license since 2005, also called for landlords to
is give them information with what their rights
take the higher rents they would be collecting
are, but they won’t be able to help them any
and invest those back into their properties. “If
type of way,” he said.
we have apartments with high rent but they’re
Patterson clarified that he wasn’t against
investors who wanted to raise rents or maximize
returns, but he was against “putting seniors on
the street, running slums, and having high rents
for crappy buildings.”
Mayor Alex Vargas questioned the discussion
topic, stating that the change in terminology
from “rent control” to “rent stabilization” got
residents “riled up.” He added, “Rent stabilization
sounds like controlling the amount that the rent
can go up.”
Patterson noted that speaking with brokers
and people who work in the industry on a daily
basis has educated him that his “suggestion
falls more in line with rent stabilization than
strict rent control.”
If this all sounds redundant, it’s because the
City Council addressed the matter last summer.
“We brought it up a couple months ago,” Vargas
said in comments that were later echoed by
Councilwoman Angie Reyes English. Both
Vargas and English brought up a discussion
item that was sent out to be researched by staff.
“It’s a very sensitive issue and we’ve been
giving feedback to our city manager and
discussing things with our city manager, city
attorney and planning person just so that we
make sure that we determine what is right
for Hawthorne when it comes to that,” Vargas
said. “We just like to do our due diligence with
regards to it and make sure we have everything
in line and just hearing the feedback today, I
think people thought we were going to vote on
something today. It’s being researched [and]
we want to make sure we have all our ducks
lined up in a row.”
Vargas added that the city has a “very, very
bountiful support [system] for its renters.” The
mayor also touted a first-time homeowners
program that the City offers along with tenantbased
rental assistance to help people with
their first month’s rent and deposit. Hawthorne
also has a substantial Section 8 program that
according to Vargas is “bursting at the seams
with people signed up.” •