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Council conditions approval of 19‑unit project on six‑month tenant protections after dispute over Ellis notices
Summary
The committee approved a 19-unit mixed-use project with conditions requiring compliance with state and local tenant-protection laws and a six-month stay for current residents after staff and tenants raised conflicting accounts about Ellis withdrawal notices and evacuation timing.
The Planning and Land Use Committee approved a mixed-use project that includes 19 residential units after resolving a dispute over tenant notification and potential displacement. The committee added a condition that the applicant provide at least six months' protection for tenants before construction begins and comply with all applicable state and local tenant-protection laws.
Tenants and tenant advocates, including Richard Fleming of the tenants' group at 502 Western Sepúlveda, told the committee they feared displacement and said two households had already moved. "We are not against development; we are against erasing affordable housing and forcing long-term tenants out," Fleming said.
The applicant's representative said the owner has complied with legal notice requirements and offered relocation assistance and the opportunity for tenants to return to the finished building. Planning staff, housing department staff and council office representatives described overlapping timelines between state Ellis withdrawal notices and a local housing-crisis statute that requires a six-month notice to tenants in certain cases. Staff said the parties and applicant appeared willing to extend the tenants' stay window.
After discussion the committee voted to approve the planning action with a condition: the applicant must provide tenants with at least six months' time to remain in their units prior to the start of construction and must comply with all applicable state and local laws governing tenant protections, including the Ellis withdrawal process and the city's housing-crisis notice requirements. The motion also included language that the applicant must provide notice to tenants and maintain communication if additional extensions are necessary. The action carried by recorded vote (4 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 absent).
Why it matters: The decision addresses a recurring tension between encouraging redevelopment and protecting existing tenants from displacement. Committee members emphasized the need to ensure tenants understand their rights and to coordinate required relocation assistance.
Key details: Project is a mixed-use building with 19 residential units; two tenants had already vacated as part of related processes; committee required six months' tenant protection pre-construction and compliance with state and local tenant laws; recorded vote 4–0 (one member absent).
