The city council, continuing its stated mission of making Simi Valley a place where all working people can live regardless of income, took action last week to protect its most bountiful source of affordable housing: rental apartments.

The council voted unanimously to approve a list of recommendations governing the conversion of rental housing into condominiums for sale, a practice which up until now had not been regulated by the city government.

Those recommendations will be turned into an ordinance that will go before the city Planning Commission and again to the council later in the year, said Al Boughey, director of environmental services.

Boughey said the reason for desiring such an ordinance is clear.

"The city wants to maintain a certain number of rental units so we can meet that need in the housing market," he said.

According to Councilmember Steve Sojka, the council hopes to maintain the balance of housing available in the community, which is already short on affordable housing units.

"When we're allowing owners to do these conversions without regulation, we're taking away the most affordable housing of all, and that's apartments," Sojka said. "Most people who are just starting out in life need to rent before they can own workforce housing."

The new ordinance would prohibit condominium conversions when the city's rental vacancy rate is less than 5 percent, based upon the most recently available apartment survey. In 2005, such a survey revealed the vacancy rate in Simi to be somewhere around 1.8 percent.

Boughey said the vacancy rate in Simi Valley hasn't been at 5 percent in at least a decade, and he doesn't expect it to get there anytime soon.

"It usually fluctuates between 2 and 3 percent," he said.

If the rate increased, conversions would only be allowed if a

minimum of 25 percent of the converted units were reserved as affordable to very lowand low-income residents.

Building owners could also be required to pay moving expenses equivalent to three months of rent, and provide three-year lease extensions to all very lowand low-income qualifying tenants.

Boughey said if the ordinance is approved with all of the city's recommendations, few, if any, owners would find it feasible to convert rental apartments into condominiums for sale in Simi Valley.

"It would be very difficult for an owner to meet all the requirements, but not impossible," he said.

According to the 2005 Simi Valley apartment survey, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom/one-bath apartment in Simi is $1,039, and $1,278 for a two-bedroom/two-bath.

There are approximately 4,728 apartments in the city of Simi Valley with 30 percent (1,393) of those restricted for income qualifying households, mostly very-lowand low-income households.