Housing authority ends plans to evict protesters

Seeking to end a long-simmering dispute with tenant advocacy groups, officials with the Los Angeles housing authority said Thursday that they had agreed to rescind eviction notices sent to a group of renters who picketed the Rancho Cucamonga home of a top executive three months ago.

The authority’s seven-member board approved an agreement that would require the agency to cover the lawyers’ fees for 11 targeted tenants and purchase computers for each of its 14 resident advisory committees, which meet regularly to talk about housing issues.

The computers are intended to improve communication between authority executives and tenants, agency spokesman Eric Brown said. The agreement will not exceed $75,000, he added.

Housing authority board Chairwoman Beatriz Stotzer, appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, called the deal fair and reasonable. “We hope that this agreement is a renewal of the responsive and civil dialogue� between the housing authority and its residents, she said.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley and has sharply criticized the housing authority over the evictions, said he was not certain that the tenants had signed off on the arrangement.

“I am hesitant to recognize the settlement at this point until I hear from both sides,� he said.

Lawyers for the tenants could not be reached for comment Thursday. Veronica Mendoza, one of the renters who received an eviction notice, would not say whether she supported the agreement but said she hoped it would stop the housing authority from “harassing tenants.�

The proposed evictions set off a political firestorm two months ago, infuriating several council members and putting a spotlight on the agency’s top executive, Rudolf Montiel.

Renters’ rights groups criticized the housing authority board for giving Montiel a $3,600-per-month housing allowance, 10 weeks of vacation per year and a $25,000 bonus. Meanwhile, Alarcon and Councilwoman Janice Hahn accused Montiel of retaliating against tenants who had only exercised their right to publicly protest the agency’s policies.

Lawyers for the authority responded by saying that the tenants had threatened Montiel’s safety by pounding on his door and windows, among other things.

The eviction notices were sent to tenants at housing projects in San Fernando and San Pedro, which are represented by Alarcon and Hahn, respectively. “I am very pleased they agreed to rescind,� said Hahn, who implored Montiel not to follow through with the evictions.

Becky Dennison, who works for the advocacy group Community Action Network, praised efforts to roll back the eviction process. “They should have done it weeks ago or never filed the evictions in the first place,� she said.

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