Council President Nury Martinez
Nury Martinez
President at Los Angeles City Council
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez is leading one of the most powerful, municipal lawmaking bodies in the country, whose members famously hold sacred their wide-ranging discretion over land use issues. The 15-member body advances major commercial real estate legislation, and spends a significant portion of its time scrutinizing seemingly every project proposed in the city with more than 50 units.
That means all the developers on the Power L.A. list have to go through Martinez and the council she leads.
Martinez also happens to be leading the City Council during both an unprecedented pandemic and an extraordinary corruption scandal that directly involved real estate developers. The investigation into the pay-for-play scheme has so far netted a guilty plea from one former councilman, and 34 charges against another former councilman who was chairman of the powerful Planning and Land Use Committee.
Martinez has said restoring the public’s trust in city government is the council’s first priority. She responded by proposing more land use regulations and changes to the entitlement process.
Martinez and the City Council have also played a major role in how the multifamily and commercial real estate world maneuvered through the pandemic, with historic rent freezes and moratoriums on commercial and residential evictions. It’s especially significant, considering most of the city’s population is made up of renters.
The council also launched the country’s largest, municipal rent relief in the early summer. The $100 million emergency relief program came from the federal CARES Act, and went to renters and landlords struggling amid stay-at-home orders and an economic downturn. It was modeled after a previous measure the chamber launched for renters who faced massive increases just before the new, statewide rent control law took effect on Jan. 1.— G.C.
