Letter to the Editor:
Covid-19’s siege seems to have induced the current Burbank renter-landlord stresses and frictions, most clearly typified by the ongoing flurry of “reno-victions” in our City. “Reno-victions”, mainly done by big-time LLC investment group corporatists, produced social and legal problems that City policy cannot fix easily. That leaves renters to endure, even accept, socially unacceptable life-style risks.
Essentially, trust is a mind-economic issue that depends on the memory cost of behavior and on the frequency of regulatory intent. The legitimacy and effectiveness of renter engagement in helping Burbank plan effectively lies in the extent to which the renting and voting public can access the confirmed information (housing ownership data primarily) required for informed opinion-making.
Renters do not desire civil administrative bloat, which surely would indicate organizational failure! However, without a Burbank Rental Registry, our politicians and bureaucrats are operating within a partially obsolete and unhelpful public service mode! Proper institutionalising of a Burbank Rental Registry could erase outdated processes that waste taxpayer money, increase Burbank’s inter-city competitiveness, and solidify our government within the ever-changing USA financial system.
Burbank’s housing is too much now propelled by speculative real-estate practices. Incentivizing renovation of old and cherished buildings of distinctive and pleasing character is wise because renovation is less costly resource wasting than construction using new materials and a lot of energy. In other words, it is beneficial for our 17 square mile urban ecology and, as well, our EKE-ology, renters’ capability to support themselves even while having difficulties earning a living.
Richard B. Cathcart
Burbank
Burbank
