Recently, several colleagues joined me in introducing a motion to establish a Small Property Owner Assistance Program, offering financial help directly to ‘mom and pop’ housing providers in LA who incurred debt due to rental arrears during the pandemic. Mom and Pops balanced the need to keep vulnerable tenants housed and paying the bills to maintain their property.
As you may know, the City has passed sweeping new laws protecting tenants including just cause eviction protection, $1.6B in rental assistance, and $27.6M to eviction defense programs. Watch a webinar put together by the Los Angeles Housing Department that provided an overview of the City’s new renter protections recently approved by the City Council here.
Now it's imperative to help small property owners who otherwise may never recover lost income and are on the verge of selling to corporations or potential foreclosure. Focused on folks who own four or fewer units, the assistance is desperately needed. More info on the proposal can be found here.
As always, feel free to contact my office at [email protected] or 818-774-4330 if you have any questions.
To streamline the generation and use of solar energy in Los Angeles, Councilmember Blumenfield introduced a motion to improve the approval process for ground-mounted solar installations. These are solar panels that are not mounted on a rooftop, and they have their own more difficult permitting and approval process. The proposal would enable more locations to be used for capturing solar power and help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The motion is in line with the city’s climate goals and ensures that no potential policy would reduce or disincentive housing. The motion also seeks to protect trees, wildlife and open space by maintaining the conditional use permit conditions in those areas. A copy of the motion can be found here.
Councilmember Blumenfield recently introduced a motion asking the Controller and City departments to improve the speed of processing and paying the City’s invoices. Routine bills and contract payments often take months to process, meaning vendors and contractors are carrying the City’s debts for too long, sometimes at risk of their own ability to make their payroll. Many local vendors and nonprofits contract with the City to provide essential services and it’s unacceptable for them to wait many months for payment. If the City is serious about promoting minority, women-owned, and local businesses, it must do better.
This week’s devastating earthquake has resulted in over 20,000 lost lives in Turkey and Syria. A tragic reminder that Angelenos need to be prepared for a natural disaster, please see below for information about the upcoming Disaster Preparedness Fair which Blumenfield is co-sponsoring with the West Valley Warner Center Chamber of Commerce at Pierce College. Additional information about how to prepare for an emergency can be found in the City’s ReadyLA Emergency Preparedness Guide, here.
Every five years, the US Census Bureau conducts a survey that measures the nation’s businesses to gain a comprehensive measure of US economic activity across more than 21,000 geographic areas. Economic census data guide business decisions and policies that impact every industry and community. Click here to participate in the survey by March 15.
CicLAvia is coming back to the West Valley on February 26. Folks are invited to the West Valley to bike, walk, roller skate, skateboard and unicycle the five mile stretch of Sherman Way through the communities of Canoga Park, Winnetka, and Reseda.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is urging its customers to stay vigilant with utility scams on the rise throughout the country. A common phone scam is one in which scammers impersonate LADWP employees and threaten to shut off the customer’s water and power services if they do not receive payment immediately over the phone or through other unofficial payment methods such as going to a liquor store or ATM to send payment to a designated account.
LADWP does not request customers make payments of any kind over the phone with a live LADWP representative. If you are asked to do so, it’s a scam. Valid ways to pay are:
Councilmember Blumenfield served a delicious meal from local eatery, Panini Kabob Grill, to clients of the Sycamore cabins in Reseda. Hope of the Valley was a recipient of the DoorDash Community Credits Program. Blumenfield thanked DoorDash for partnering with Hope of the Valley to uplift residents and supporting small businesses.
Councilmember Blumenfield participated in a groundbreaking of a multi-family residential project in Canoga Park. Alliant Strategic Development is developing four multi-family residential projects and all will include affordable units. Two of the projects are located in Council District 3 and will bring much needed housing, especially affordable housing to the West Valley.
Over 100 trees were adopted this past weekend at a tree distribution at Runnymede Park. Team Blumenfield thanked TreePeople, LA City Sanitation, City Plants, and local residents for their partnership in increasing the tree canopy in the West San Fernando Valley.
Councilmembers Blumenfield and Krekorian welcomed students from AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School in Canoga Park. During public comment, students brought awareness to the cruelties happening in Artsakh and joined the City in support of legislation which would condemn unprovoked attacks on the Armenian territory.
This week's photo is from the CSUN's San Fernando Valley History Digital Library. Circa 1935-1945, workers sort through oranges at the Canoga Citrus Association packing house.