Portantino Says to Freeze Rent for SR 710 Houses State Senator Doesn't Wants to Price Out Tenants Ahead of Property Sale

Thursday, June 1 2017

Sacramento, CA –Today, Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) amended SB 400 to freeze the rents of the houses owned by Caltrans in the SR 710 corridor.  Portantino's legislative action follows a successful town hall he hosted with Caltrans and the SR 710 tenants where rising rent was a serious concern expressed by the tenants.  In the wake of Metropolitan Transportation Authority's vote last week to kill the SR 710 tunnel, the sale of the SR 710 houses is the next big piece of the puzzle that needs to fall into place. 

"Current tenants have the right to purchase their homes from Caltrans. I want to make sure that rising rents don't drive them out while we are in the home stretch of resolving the 60-year issue in the SR 710 corridor.  For me, the fair thing to do is to freeze rents and help facilitate the sale of the properties as quickly and efficiently as possible," commented Portantino.

Portantino has been one of the leading advocates for the Caltrans tenants and a long-time proponent of selling the homes as affordably as possible.  He is currently the author of SB 275, which gives the Los Angeles County Assessor clarifying authority to sell the homes without negative tax consequences for the tenants that meet affordable housing eligibility.

Portantino was one of the leaders of the No 710 Tunnel movement for the past 20 years and played a significant role in the recent action by MTA to choose a different alternative for the SR 710 corridor than the tunnel.  California Secretary of Transportation Brian Kelly gave Portantino a personal mention in his comments on the MTA action last week.

Contact: Darla Dyson, (818) 409-0400.                                                                          

#####

 

Sen. Portantino represents nearly 930,000 people in the 25th Senate District, which includes Altadena, Atwater Village, Bradbury, Burbank, Claremont, Duarte, Glendale, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Lake View Terrace, La Verne, Los Feliz, Monrovia, Montrose, Pasadena, San Dimas,

San Marino, Shadow Hills, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga, and Upland.