Letter to the Editor: Property management wrong to sue

Dear Editor:

As a resident of Downey for four decades, I support the residents of Shellyfield Road (between Cecilia and Muller streets) in their quest to limit overnight street parking to those families living in houses along Shellyfield Road. 

At issue here is the lack of adequate vehicle parking in nearby apartment buildings. In an ongoing problem, once available parking for the rental complex is used up, apartment residents use Shellyfield for overflow parking.

It’s a frustrating issue for both sides, but the solution lies squarely on the shoulders of the landlords of the apartment buildings. It is up to the landlord/property management company – in this case, Ron Kolar of L’Abri Management, Inc. – to supply adequate parking for the apartment building residents. Instead, he ignores this responsibility, thus burdening families living on Shellyfield.

Kolar’s asserts that the City of Downey, which granted the parking limitation (known as a preferred parking district) at the request of the residents of Shellyfield Road, is prejudice against renters, and he threatens to sue the City of Downey over this. But his argument does not hold water.  

Why? Remember that families also rent single-family dwellings – like the houses on Shellyfield. I would venture to say that are a fair number of rentals on Shellyfield.

The City of Downey is not prejudiced against renters. It is simply trying to resolve an issue that Kolar himself has helped create.

It is time for Kolar and L’Abri to step up and provide its renters with adequate parking, and stop wrongfully accusing the City of prejudice. 

Jim Hendricks
Downey