The City Council moved to appoint a homeless task force to come up with other potential strategies to deal with the issue. Declaring a 'housing affordability crisis”' in Torrance, the City Council has adopted an urgent ordinance banning no-fault evictions in more than 20,000 homes in the community through year’s end as officials bid to stem an escalating number of homeless.
The ordinance, which takes effect immediately, was approved at Tuesday’s council meeting as the council simultaneously moved to appoint a homeless task force to come up with other potential strategies to deal with the issue.
About two dozen members of the public addressed the panel during an almost three-hour discussion.
The ordinance is intended to especially help the 36 percent of city residents considered 'rent-burdened.' Those are people who pay more than 33 percent of their income on rent, a group that includes more than half of all elderly residents in the city.
'City of Torrance tenants have already reported experiencing a surge of no-fault eviction notices and threats of eviction,' municipal staff told the council, although concrete figures were unavailable.
But the vast majority of Torrance’s estimated 226 homeless — 150 people — live in vehicles, the 2019 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count found. In contrast, fewer than 50 live on the street while another almost 50 people live in interim housing programs considered homeless shelters.
'Find a place where people can pitch tents and the city provide toilets and showers and help the residents set up community standards to set up a similar location where people can park vehicles in which they are living,' resident Antonie Churg told the council via email.
Councilman Geoff Rizzo agreed the homeless task force’s initial steps should be aimed at helping those living in vehicles, the largest population.
The emergency eviction ordinance is intended to bridge the gap until a state law takes effect in January that would require “just cause” for a tenant to be evicted and limit annual rent increases to 5 percent plus the rate of inflation.
It’s estimated that will provide greater protections to about 22,930 rental households in the city who live in housing built before 2005.
Amanda Mendoza, a resident of a Torrance apartment complex for the last seven years, said she is among those affected tenants and urged the council to adopt the emergency ordinance.
'My rent went up over $700 and then I came home to an eviction notice once the (state) bill was signed (into law),' she said. “From my perspective this is urgent; I don’t want to end up homeless.”
Council members agreed, siding with a number of residents who related similar stories.
Councilman Tim Goodrich said he looked up one multi-unit apartment building accused of rent gouging by residents and and found the owners paid less in property taxes than he did on his single family home.
'The whole issue of basically driving individuals out of their residence and creating more homeless on the streets, it’s going to be wrong tonight and it’s going to be wrong tomorrow,' Rizzo said.