Hundreds of Santa Monica rent-controlled tenants in deed-restricted buildings could face new eviction grounds under Measure GG, a City Charter amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The measure would let landlords evict tenants who do not qualify for a deed-restricted affordable unit based on income or who fail to provide proof of eligibility.

The Pico Neighborhood Association is hosting a town hall at Santa Monica College on Thursday, Oct. 1, to discuss the measure's impact. About half of the city's 839 rent-controlled, deed-restricted units sit in the Pico Neighborhood, according to data from Community Corporation of Santa Monica, the city's largest affordable housing provider.

Community Corp operates 2,036 deed-restricted units citywide. The overlap with rent control arose because the nonprofit has purchased rent-controlled buildings using funding and tax credits that require deed restrictions.

The Santa Monica Rent Control Board voted unanimously in June to recommend the City Council place the measure on the ballot. Measure GG bundles the eviction provision with four other changes: affirming the city's just cause eviction laws, letting Rent Control Board commissioners serve up to three terms, raising the cap on rent-controlled unit registration fees and clarifying the board's authority over rent adjustment petition timelines, according to the city's election page.

Councilmember Ellis Raskin, a former chair of the city's Planning Commission, pushed back on the criticism. Raskin said opponents are wrongly creating the impression that the measure adds new reasons for evictions. He said a handful of landlords are illegally renting deed-restricted units to people who earn well above the income limit, as first reported by the Santa Monica Lookout.

Opponents see it differently. Mathew Millen of Progressive Landlords of Santa Monica called Measure GG a deceptive campaign to evict tenants whose income has risen above the original qualifying level, without offering them an alternative unit. The Pico Neighborhood Association's town hall flyer states the measure makes no exception for grandfathered tenants and warns that a tenant over the income limit, or one who does not turn in income paperwork, could be evicted.

Opponents also argue the measure codifies a process for replacing over-income tenants but includes no protections for the displaced tenant.

Rent Board Chair Kay Ambriz said existing leases in rent-controlled buildings purchased by Community Corp still protect those tenants. "Your lease is a contract," Ambriz said. "You can't make a change in the contract. Nothing in this ballot measure would change that."

One question remains unanswered: how many rent-controlled tenants in Community Corp buildings have signed new deed-restricted leases, which could change their protections. That data was not available as of the Lookout's Sept. 30 report.