1 David Yakobson
From: Janet Gagnon <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2025 2:07 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya
Cc: Daniel Yukelson; Jesus Rojas-Olmos; councilmtgitems Subject: Algorithmic Software Ordinance - Agenda Item 4G Attachments: Santa Monica Algorithmic Software Item 4G-05272025.pdf
EXTERNAL
Honorable Mayor Lana Negrete and Members of the Santa Monica City Council, Attached please find a formal comment letter from the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) representing more than 10,000 rental housing providers throughout Los Angles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties, including many in Santa Monica. 80% of our members are small, mom-and-pop multifamily owners with fewer than 20 units and provide some of the most aƯordable housing in Santa Monica.
We urge you to modify the draft ordinance in order to properly address small rental housing providers and their drastically diƯerent position as small, local businesses. Without your help and recognition, more RSO properties will be lost in Santa Monica.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Janet M. Gagnon
Janet M. Gagnon, Esq.
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer &
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs & External Relations Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
621 South Westmoreland Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90005
t: 213/384-4131 ext 309 | f: 888/384-4131 | [email protected] www.aagla.org
Twitter |Facebook | LinkedIn
The Voice of Multifamily Housing Since 1917 ©
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.” John Stuart Mill - 1867
Item 4-B
May 27, 2025
Item 4-B
May 27, 2025
APARTMENT ASSOCIATION OF GREATER LOS ANGELES
AAGLA
“Great Apartments Start Here!”
Janet M. Gagnon
Senior Vice President, Government
Affairs & External Relations
[email protected]
213.384.4131; Ext. 309
May 27, 2025
Via Electronic Mail
Honorable Mayor Lana Negrete
and the Members of the Santa Monica City Council
City Hall Council Chambers
1685 Main Street, Room 250
Santa Monica, California 90401
Re: Algorithmic Software – Agenda Item 4G
Honorable Mayor Negrete and Members of the Santa Monica City Council:
The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) represents rental housing providers throughout Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties, including many in Santa Monica. More than 80% of our membership are mom-and-pop owners with 20 or fewer units.
We understand the very real concern about price fixing in Santa Monica using nonpublic data as the reason for this new algorithmic software ordinance (Agenda Item 4G). However, we are extremely concerned that this ordinance as currently drafted will unintentionally discourage small mom-and-pop owners from continuing to provide needed affordable housing in Santa Monica for fear of being charged $1,000 per violation PLUS attorneys’ fees and costs simply for using readily available off the shelf software that such owners have no ability to influence or to change the existing algorithms built into the program.
As the City Attorney’s report references, the Department of Justice lawsuit involves large corporations owning thousands of units collaborating to use nonpublic information. These are players in a different universe from local, small rental housing providers. Mom-and-pop owners do not have the financial means to protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits with threats of huge potential penalties and attorneys’ fees.
Such huge exposure will only push more mom-and-pop owners out of business and their older, affordable properties off the market in Santa Monica for redevelopment by new corporate owners as luxury housing.
We need the City Council’s assistance to prevent small, mom-and-pop owners from becoming innocent victims in the financial crossfire created by this ordinance by providing a staggered or delayed implementation date for rental housing providers with 20 or fewer units from liability for at least 6 months, so that they are able to be made aware of this new ordinance. Also, we ask that the City itself conduct extensive outreach and education to rental housing providers, especially those owning rent stabilized units, Item 4-B
May 27, 2025
Item 4-B
May 27, 2025
APARTMENT ASSOCIATION OF GREATER LOS ANGELES
AAGLA
“Great Apartments Start Here!”
to make them aware of this ordinance before it becomes effective in order to enable owners to proper comply before being subject to penalties.
Alternatively, we would ask that the penalties be limited to “intentional violations” rather than merely the act of non-compliance itself that may well be happening merely for lack of knowledge on this very new type of ordinance that addresses an issue of first impression not decided by a single court in the nation at this time.
Also, we would urge the City Council to consider the damaging impacts this will have on rental housing providers and their ability to comply if the City adopts an ordinance now within months of statewide legislation likely being adopted. There are already at least three state senate bills addressing this issue, namely SB52 (Perez), SB295 (Hurtado) and SB384 (Wahab). There has been no data provided by the City as to how many renters in Santa Monica have even been directly impacted by any negative consequences of existing software. Thus, it would be far better to let the state lead on the issue in order to maximize compliance and understanding among rental housing providers, renters and the general public.
We realize that this item is on the consent calendar for tonight, but we would urge a more detailed and holistic review of this ordinance given the staggering negative consequences it will have on mom-and-pop owners’ ability to continue providing affordable housing as well as in light of the currently pending state legislation.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to reach out to me directly by telephone at (213) 384-4131; Ext. 309 or via electronic mail at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Janet M. Gagnon
Janet M. Gagnon, Esq.
CC: Daniel Yukelson, Executive Director, Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles Item 4-B
May 27, 2025
Item 4-B
May 27, 2025