During opening remarks at the board’s meeting, Chair Allison Henry said the City Attorney’s Office had determined that board member Brenda Lyon could not serve on the panel.
“Unfortunately, city attorney ruled one of our members ineligible to serve,” Henry said. “We want to say it’s very unfortunate and regrettable.”
Henry thanked Lyon for applying and encouraged her to seek an appointment when future at-large seats become available.
“It takes an awful lot to apply for any kind of community service and we are very much looking forward to seeing Brenda Lyon again,” Henry said.
Henry said the board is looking forward to having Lyon apply for an eligible space when at large seats come up next year.
The announcement comes after the City Attorney’s Office informed Lyon in a May 28 letter that she was ineligible to serve as an alternate tenant representative because of her recent employment in property management.
According to records reviewed by Pasadena Now, Lyon signed application documents explaining eligibility requirements for Rental Housing Board members. As part of her application package, Lyon completed a Form 700 affidavit that states tenant members and alternate tenant members are ineligible if they have had a material interest in rental property within three years prior to appointment.
Lyon’s application materials also disclosed her employment history. Her resume stated that she worked for Ziprent Management from 2022 to 2025.
In a personal statement included with her application, Lyon described serving as a senior manager for a rapidly growing online property management company, overseeing rental listings, showings, repairs, lease renewals and landlord-tenant relations.
During the May 11 City Council meeting, Councilmember Rick Cole asked Lyon about her experience in property management.
“I was a liaison between landlords and tenants,” Lyon told the council. “My day-to-day was dealing with every aspect of rentals, listening to tenants and landlords.”
The City Council subsequently appointed Lyon to the board.
However, Deputy City Attorney Allysa Martinez later notified Lyon that her recent employment constituted a “material interest in rental property” under Article XVIII of the City Charter, making her ineligible to serve as an alternate tenant member.
“Although you indicated on your application that you did not have a Material Interest in Rental Property, the broad definition of that term in the City’s Charter controls, and it includes your recent employment at a property management company,” Martinez wrote.
The charter prohibits tenant members and alternate tenant members from having a material interest in rental property at the time of appointment or during their service on the board.
Lyon has questioned why concerns about her eligibility surfaced only after her appointment, noting that her property management background was disclosed repeatedly throughout the application and appointment process.
Under the City Charter, board members who acquire a material interest in rental property during their term must resign within five days. Members of city commissions, committees and boards generally serve at the pleasure of the City Council and may be removed by council vote.
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