By Mary O’KEEFE

The City of Glendale Clerk’s Office has found that a proposed rent stabilization measure does not have enough signatures to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot.

Although about 4,000 signatures were collected, that number fell short of the required 10,000, according to Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian, Glendale city clerk.

The hope of those who spearheaded the proposal, the Glendale Tenants Union, was their initiative would be on the November ballot allowing local residents to vote on rent stabilization.

“Glendale does not currently regulate the amount of rent a landlord may charge. This ordinance would cap annual rent increases to 4%, establish an independent appointed Rent Board, and amend the existing Just Cause ordinance to eliminate protection exemption for renters in units that have signed a 1-year lease,” according to the Tenants Union.

“Our signature collection for this ordinance is closed. This is the second year in a row that we have collected thousands of signatures,” said Mike Van Gorder, one of the founding members of the Glendale Tenants Union.

The Tenants Union members may not have enough signatures this time around but they haven’t completely given up on the measure. Members will attend the Glendale City Council meetings, like they have for the past several weeks, to again ask the council members to support their efforts. However, if the past is any indication, it does not look like this Council is ready to make any decision on rental stabilization.

Van Gorder added they are fighting against a culture of maximum profit with minimum concern of consequences for renters.

Although there is a lot of talk about low income and Section 8 housing for those in need, there is also a need to help those in the middle class.

“The problem is regional. We need to protect the people who make up this community,” he said. He added that, traditionally, Glendale has been a city of blue-collar workers and rents charged by big developments and luxury apartments are out of the budget range of those workers.

“I made a comment at one [of the Glendale Council meetings] of a 90-year-old woman whose rent was hiked by $1,400,” Van Gorder said. “Let’s start the conversation there.”

Van Gorder said the Tenants Union members are not stating that all landlords are being unreasonable and raising rents and that the measure proposed would not affect those who are being fair to their tenants.

“We are working with residents of a 60-unit building that has [seen] hikes of $800,” he said. “I have spoken to people who are employed who say they may have to live out of their car.”

For Van Gorder, rent hikes that cause people to move from Glendale affects not only school populations, like declining enrollment, but also traffic issues in the city.

“[People] may have jobs here but can’t afford to live here. They drive in from Palmdale or Riverside, which adds to traffic,” he added.

Van Gorder pointed out even those with good paying jobs are struggling because, in addition to paying higher rents, they are also facing their obligation to repay school loans.

The conversation has been brought to the Glendale City Council several times by residents and the Tenants Union. The City Council could vote to create its own rental stabilization initiative, or work with the Tenants Union proposal; neither seems likely in time for this November’s election.

The deadline for the initial proposal to be presented with the correct number of signatures was Aug. 6. The last day a proposal can be amended is Aug. 10 by 5 p.m., according to Kassakhian.

  Mary Okeefe