10/24/1979 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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. - housing, for which statewide bonding was approved in May 1978. If a redefinition is approved, it will apply to structures that might contain e condominium units, whereas at present under an Attorney General ruling, it would apply only to the structure and not individual units. At present, there are financing opportunities available to rehabilitate multi-family rental housing. She would suggest that perhaps the City or the Housing Authority acquire housing in the downtown area to be made available for those needing to relocate. She would recommend the City initiate a May bond issue which would be used to help finance the 50-percent equity required by the State. She also mentioned that the City recently approved a tax exemption for a downtown multi-family development. She thinks it would be reasonable for the City to ask the developer to give first priority to those displaced tenants of these two units who are unable to relocate themselves in the current housing market. It would also be reasonable to ask the condominium developer to agree to let those current residents who are eligible for this new development stay until the units are completed. Lastly, she requested that for those who have to move and for whom the actual physcial act of moving is an insurmountable obstacle, the developer should be willing to provjde moving services. Ernest Jaffarian, 2074 Todd, said he has been personally involved in condominium conversions in Eugene (52 units) and Ashland (24 units). In neither case was there a major problem. He cautioned that there are more ways of converting rental units than the process of condominium conversion. If a moratorium were imposed, he wondered whether other forms would also be limited; for example, where cooperative ownership is held by a cor- poration. He asked whether the Council will be suggesting that a person _ cannot change from private to corporate ownership. He added that this is a much larger issue than just the conversion of condominiums. Mr. Joseph Mahler, 1080 Patterson, though capable of purchasing a condo- minium, recognizes that many tenants are unable to purchase a unit. He cited examples in other communities. In Los Angeles, for example, a condominium conversion is rejected if the overall vacancy rate is less than five percent. Other cities have imposed restrictions when the vacancy rate is below three percent. In New York City, tenants over the age of 62 with an income of less than $30,000 may not be affected if they have lived in a unit for over two years. He mentioned several other cities with similar programs and said that these communities, as well as the federal government, have realized that existing housing cannot be successfully converted without having some controls. Mr. Lieuallen commented that he was irritated to discover that staff has not seen all the materials that he has seen. He wants staff to respond to Mrs. Niven's suggestions, other concerns expressed by those who testified, and to the assertion in some reports that the demand for condominium conversion is artificial and that conversions are being done only in areas where the vacancy rate is extremely low. In reference to staff's mention that this would be the first instance of regulating tenure, Mr. Lieuallen 1_ 588 10/24/79--10