City Official Objects to Meeting Rules for Displaced Tenants

A meeting between displaced residents and a property management company scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall ran into problems after city officials got wind of the rules of the meeting.

In an email to tenants Trilliant property management said cell phones would be confiscated, no recording devices would be allowed and disruptive tenants would be expelled from the meeting. Trilliant also limited tenants speaking time to two minutes.

That didn’t sit well with Assistant City Manager Nick Rodriguez.

In an email to Trilliant about the meeting Rodriguez called City Hall “per se a public forum.”

“You have been offered the use of City Council Chambers for you and members of the public, tenants at 215 S. Madison, to discuss issues of public importance,” Rodriguez wrote to Erik Rivera, chief executive officer of Trilliant.

“The City fully supports the notion of a meeting, and that there be rules of decorum; however, the City does not assent to confiscation of phones, nor to the notion of expelling anyone from the meeting [absent a violation of the law and lawful removal by a peace officer.]. It is not clear how you intend to enforce either condition, but that raises ancillary concerns about the possibility of physical touching [“expelled immediately”] to which the City also does not consent.”

Rodriguez’s email was also sent to Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian, Pam Thyret, who serves as Councilman Andy Wilson’s field representative, Attorney Caleb Soto, Assistant City Attorney Theresa Fuentes and Pasadena Police Commander Jason Clawson.

Rodriguez concludes the email by urging Trilliant to meet with the tenants as soon as possible.

The tenants of the 215 South Madison Ave.  building have been locked out of their apartments since December 19 after a fire initiated their displacement.

According to information obtained by Pasadena Now, the meeting rules, established by Trilliant, says tenants won’t be provided a copy of the minutes of the meeting and threatens tenants with legal action if they violate the rules.

“No audio or video recording allowed by attendees,” the email reads. “All phones and recording devices shall be surrendered at the door. Trilliant may record the meeting to aid in the preparation of minutes. Tenants are not privileged to a copy of the minutes.”

According to the email, “Trilliant reserves all rights to take legal action against any tenant or person violating these rules of this private meeting.”

To get into the meeting, tenants will have to present a valid ID, which will be checked against the tenant roster.

The tenants have been displaced since a fire broke out in the building on Dec. 19. Tenants have not been allowed back in their apartments since the fire. Officials with Trillion claim they are removing dangerous contaminants from the building, despite the approval of building inspectors, who proclaimed the building safe.

“I’m not aware of any of those rules,” City Councilman Andy Wilson told Pasadena Now. “I just know [about] the meeting with the landlord and the tenants, and that city staff will be there as well.”

Wilson said city staff has been communicating with the residents and several key representatives of the residents’ groups. Wilson represents the neighborhood where the apartment building is located.

“I find his rules certainly draconian to say the least,” Wilson said in reference to Rivera’s restrictions.

This is not the first meeting with the tenants.

According to Wilson, representatives and members of a renters’ rights group met previously. It is not known if Trilliant was represented at that meeting.

On Friday, tenants said they are still being required to pay February rent despite not being able to enter their units.

“No relocation assistance has been provided from Trilliant,” said tenant Tia Strozier. “They maintain the nature of the property makes us ineligible for any kind of assistance and to rely on our personal renter’s insurance for support. None of my insurance adjusters have been given access to conduct an assessment of my unit.”