A senior citizen couple is facing eviction from their apartment based on a technicality in Beverly Hills’ rent stabilization ordinance, the City Council learned Tuesday. Speaking on behalf of Parker and Jean West, attorney and former Beverly Hills Mayor Mark Egerman detailed the couple’s struggle to keep their apartment at 420 S. Doheny Drive after nearly 24 years of residency. Egerman, who was accompanied by the couple at the podium in Council Chambers, urged council members to “study the issue to ensure that ordinances enacted to protect senior citizens on limited income are not circumvented in any way.” The Wests have fought a legal battle with two property owners since 2009, Egerman said. In the latest round of legal wrangling, the property owners have issued an eviction notice centered around the issue of “comparability.” After recent renovations added a bathroom to the couple’s unit and additional kitchen space to a neighboring apartment, there is a lack of comparability, the owners claimed. This negates the couple’s rent-control standing under the city’s rent stabilization ordinance, paving the way for the current owners to move into the disputed unit. City Attorney Larry Wiener said his office and other city staff personnel are studying the issue and will make a determination on the matter in “several days” or “several weeks.” Council members agreed to put the issue on their next meeting agenda for further public discussion. The next council meeting is scheduled for Feb. 21. “Mr. and Mrs. West, we are so sorry for your predicament, and as a city we take this responsibility very seriously so you will have our full, undivided attention,” Mayor Barry Brucker said. B e sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . The rest is here: Council Hears Plight of Rent Control Tenants Facing Eviction
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Council Postpones Vote on Trousdale View Ordinance
The debate between residents in the Trousdale Estates with high trees and foliage—and their neighbors who seek to restore hillside views—was on the City Council’s agenda Thursday. Members agreed to postpone a vote on a proposed ordinance that addresses the issue after a hearty discussion with city staff, community members and the city attorney. After research by the Planning Commission and city staff, along with public hearings, the “roof height plus one foot with a maximum of 15 feet,” as Vice Mayor William Brien phrased it, is the proposed rule for foliage that may block a neighbor’s view. Residents from both sides of the issue who attended the meeting pointed out “roadblocks” in the proposed ordinance’s legal language. “This ordinance raises many thorny policy questions, and there are certainly pros and cons to many, if not all, of the decisions that are made with regard to the issues that have been raised,” City Attorney Larry Wiener said. Several specific possible adjustments Wiener raised and council members discussed were: Adding wording in the ordinance to allow for access to a foliage owner’s property in order to determine the height of potentially view-obstructing trees or shrubs. Changes to a home’s roof height that would affect a foliage owner’s maximum height for trees or shrubs. Issues pertaining to tree growth and trimming that reflect a foliage owners compliance with the ordinance. Concern over more specifically clarifying how to determine when the city is actually required to settle disputes between neighbors over view restoration via the code enforcement process. The cost to homeowners trying to restore a view, which could climb to six figures if the matter has to go to court, because provisions in the ordinance shift the financial burden of enforcing the law to residents. The council will consider the ordinance again at its Nov. 15 meeting. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . View original post here: Council Postpones Vote on Trousdale View Ordinance
