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Title:
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Consideration of Member Absence for the Landlord Tenant Mediation Board.
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City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 08/22/2011 Item Number: A-1
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of Member Absence for the Landlord
Tenant Mediation Board.
Contact Person/Dept.: Tevis Barnes,
Mona Kennedy
Community Development
Department/Housing Division
Phone Number: (310) 253-5782
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (8/17/11); (E-Mail)
Landlord Tenant Mediation Board (8/17/11).
Department Approval:
Sol Blumenfeld (08/09/11)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (08/15/11)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (08/16/11)
City Manager:
John Nachbar (08/17/11)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council consider the continuance of service of Steve
Reitzfeld, Landlord Representative, on the Landlord Tenant Mediation Board and
provide direction as deemed appropriate.
BACKGROUND:
The Landlord Tenant Mediation Board (Board) was established by the City Council
in 1981 to offer voluntary mediation services to the tenant-landlord community.
Those services were expanded on May 20, 1987 by Chapter 15.09 of the Culver City
Municipal Code to provide mandatory “good faith” mediation to rental disputes
surrounding rent increases in Culver City.
The purpose and objectives of the Board are: 1) to build and strengthen
communications between tenants and landlords; 2) to reduce tensions in the rental
housing market by providing a means for tenants and landlords to resolve disputes
related to rent increases; and 3) to educate the rental community about tenant and
landlord relationships and the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and
landlords.
Since its creations in 1981, the Board has scheduled five hundred and eighty-three
mediation sessions.
The Board consists of nine members who each serve three-year terms. There are
three categories of memberships which include: three Tenant Representatives, three City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Landlord Representatives, and three Member-at-Large Representatives. There are
also three alternate positions, one in each of the above-referenced categories.
Tenant Representatives must be a resident of Culver City and have no financial
interest in residential income-producing property, either in Culver City or elsewhere.
Landlord Representatives must own, manage, or have a residential income property
interest within the City, and preferably be residents of Culver City. Member-at-Large
Representatives must be residents of the City and are neither tenants nor have any
ownership interest in rental property in Culver City
DISCUSSION:
The rules and regulations in the “Organization and Implementation Guidelines” for
the Board states “the name of any member who within any one-year period has
more than one absence of a regularly scheduled meeting, excused or unexcused,
shall be referred to the City Council for consideration of removal.”
The Board meets quarterly during the months of January, April, July and October
usually on the last Wednesday of the month. Mr. Reitzfeld has served on the Board
since July 1, 2003, when he was appointed as a Landlord Representative. Mr.
Reitzfeld was absent from the April 2011 and July 2011 meetings.
Mr. Reitzfeld has provided a letter regarding his absences and has expressed his
desire to remain on the Board. Since Mr. Reitzfeld’s appointment to the Board as a
Landlord Representative, he has received thirty (30) hours of professional mediation
training at a cost to the City of approximately $595. Additionally, Mr. Reitzfeld has
mediated thirteen (13) cases since his appointment in July 2003. This is the first
time Mr. Reitzfeld has come before City Council for absences from the Board.
There are currently three (3) Landlord Representatives and one (1) Landlord
Alternate Representative.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
For new appointments only, the City incurs the costs of 30 hours of professional
mediation training (approximately $640) and AB 1234 Ethics training. These costs
would be absorbed in Fiscal Year 2011/2012 by Housing Set Aside Fund
appropriations.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Letter from Steve Reitzfeld.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1A. Allow Steve Reitzfeld to continue to serve as Landlord Representative to the
Landlord Tenant Mediation Board
OR
1B. Remove Steve Reitzfeld as Landlord Representative to the Landlord Tenant
Mediation Board.
ATTACHMENT COVER SHEET
Meeting Date: August 22, 2011
Item: Consideration of Member Absence for the Landlord Tenant
Mediation Board
Attachments:
1. Letter from Steve Reitzfeld
Pages
1 Keriady, Mona
From: REITZFELD@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 4:29 PM
To: Kennedy, Mona
Subject: Re: Landlord Representative Absence from Landlord Tenant Mediation Board
Dear Culver City Council, July 20,2011
I desire to stay on the Landlord Tenant Mediation Board. I have been on this board
for ten years. This is the first time I have missed two meeting within one year.
I missed the April meeting and the July 27th meeting. The April meeting date was
changed and I did not make the change on my calendar. The July 27 meeting
was on Family vacation.
Thank You,
Steve Reitzfeld
Chair