To some, preserving a neighborhood might mean buildings. To others, it’s the trees. To Ayde Gonzalez, the new Neighborhood Preservation Coordinator for the City of Santa Monica, it’s the people.

“The goal of the role is really to keep Santa Monicans housed,” Gonzalez said in an interview at City Hall, “and right now I’m focusing on tenant protection programs that are in place.”

It’s a broad job with the possibility of big impact: about 70 percent of the City’s population rents. Right now, the City has no idea how many tenants are considering leaving their buildings – rent controlled or otherwise – because of issues with their landlord.

After just three weeks on the job, Gonzalez is still sifting through a complicated web of rules, tenant protections and regulations that spans at least five departments in the City. As she tries to understand what exactly she can do to help renters who feel like they’re being forced from their homes because of construction or poor management, she’s realizing the complicated picture they face.

Read More: http://smdp.com/city-hires-new-staffer-to-defend-renters-rights-and-keep-them-in-their-homes/159612