Rosendahl Announces New Lincoln Place Talks:

impending evictions halted for the momentLos Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl announced late last week that the owners and tenants of the Lincoln Place Apartments will return to the negotiating table to try to find a resolution to the crisis there.Rosendahl reported that AIMCO, the owner of the property, has agreed to his demand that it show good faith to the tenants by halting all eviction proceedings until the end of May. The remaining tenants of Lincoln Place previously faced March 20 evictions.”I am pleased that both sides have agreed to try to find a way to end this intolerable situation,” Rosendahl said. “My hope is that they can reach a deal that will allow all the current tenants to stay there for life under rent control, and that former tenants will be invited back with the same protections.”At the same time, Rosendahl agreed to keep in committee a motion he submitted last month, directing the Planning Department to unilaterally record restrictive development conditions on the Lincoln Place property. The motion is backed by the Lincoln Place Tenants Association and Venice residents. AIMCO is opposing the proposal.“If the negotiations are successful, there will be no need to move forward with the motion, ”Rosendahl said. “And if the negotiations fail, then I still have the ability to move forward with the motion.”Rosendahl said that AIMCO agreed to a new round of negotiations with tenants, preservationists and other interested parties. He said that negotiations would have to be conducted by a paid, professional mediator, and that all sides should agree on and share some of the cost of the mediator.The councilman, whose district includes Venice, said he hoped both sides would choose a mediator by March 10, and that negotiations could be wrapped up by April 15.“Everyone needs to move quickly,” Rosendahl said. “The remaining tenants, most of whom are elderly or disabled, cannot continue to live in this state of limbo and heartache. They need certainty. I commend AIMCO and the Lincoln Place Tenants Association for their willingness to sit together with preservationists and others and look to a solution.”This will be the second round of negotiations between AIMCO, tenants, and preservationists. Last fall, Rosendahl and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa brokered a series of talks that fell apart. At issue in that round of negotiations and in the talks to come, are the fate of current and former tenants of Lincoln Place; historical and cultural designation of the property; and the scope and pace of the process to consider AIMCO’s future redevelopment plans.