Homeowners Association Faces Backlash Over Mayoral Forum

A mayoral forum hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association has faced some backlash over its decision to have Mayor Karen Bass and City Council Member Nithya Raman as the only participants.

Yet organizers are remaining unapologetic — noting this forum is by and for residents of the enclave in the heart of the San Fernando Valley.

The May 5 event — which will focus on “public safety, homelessness, infrastructure, city services and the overall direction of Los Angeles,” according to SOHA’s website — appears to be a reckoning rather than an act of favoritism.

SOHA President Matt Epstein, one of several real estate professionals among the group’s leadership, said it decided to zero-in on Bass and Raman for a couple of reasons: time constraints that come along with hosting every candidate and the fact that these two candidates directly represent Sherman Oaks. Raman was elected in the 4th Council District which includes Sherman Oaks. Another reason is that both have held positions in the city in the last four to six years — a time when Los Angeles has seen a lot of turbulence.

While a representative from candidate Rae Huang’s office likened this forum structure to “gatekeeping” and a spokesperson for Adam Miller called it a “missed opportunity,” it looks like it may not be the worst thing to be skipped over.

“This isn’t to promote (Bass and Raman),” Epstein told The Real Deal over the phone. “This is to get answers out of those two.”

Sherman Oaks is in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles with a population of roughly 70,000, according to the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council. The median sale price for a single-family home in the roughly nine-square-mile neighborhood is $1.4 million, according to Zillow. The average annual household income stood at nearly $160,000 in 2024, Point2Homes reported, citing U.S. Census data.

Epstein said he has “a lot of respect” for all candidates running and that he agrees more with some of the candidates that won’t be a part of the forum than the candidates who will, describing Bass’ policies as “terrible” and Raman’s as “absolutely horrendous.”

The two candidates’ standing as having Sherman Oaks in their elective territory nevertheless holds sway with Epstein, who co-founded Powerhouse Partners, a residential brokerage team within Berkshire Hathaway. And he’s not the only SOHA leader with real estate ties.

Out of the SOHA team members listed on the organization’s site, close to one-third work in and around real estate ranging from being agents, brokers, lawyers at firms that specialize in land use and real estate law, and those with city planning experience.

Epstein made clear the group is private and does not endorse candidates in elections.

“Our concerns have always been to protect the quality of life in Sherman Oaks,” he said. “… We do have major issues in the City of Los Angeles and California that are affecting homeowners.

He also signaled that the NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) perspective is an animating feature of the group, despite recent trends of YIMBYism — which is generally embraced by both Bass and Raman — along with outgrowths such as the “abundance” movement.

“Legislators are passing laws that make it harder to be a homeowner,” Epstein said, pointing to Senate Bill 79, which goes into effect in July and will allow for multifamily construction in single-family-zoned areas near transit. “That’s going to absolutely destroy home values and home ownership in a lot of residential areas in Los Angeles, (including) Sherman Oaks.”

At the time SB 79 was signed into law, Bass did express concerns about the legislation.

SOHA, which has been active since 1964, publishes monthly newsletters that outline local implications to city, county and state policies, highlight local businesses, announce events hosted by the nonprofit and provide commentary on issues facing Sherman Oaks and greater Los Angeles. In its tenure, SOHA has championed legislation such as Prop 13, which capped property taxes for homeowners, and fought against zoning proposals the group believed would interfere with the character of its neighborhood.

“From high-rise proposals to oversized commercial developments, we’ve consistently pushed for responsible land use that respects community scale, smart growth policies that include traffic and infrastructure planning, and public input before decisions are made,” according to SOHA’s website. “Our advocacy has helped preserve the balance between urban convenience and suburban tranquility.”

A major factor for SOHA in this mayoral election stems from concerns over the city’s homelessness strategy — a flashpoint that was once confined to the city’s center but has become a factor in leafy, outlying neighborhoods such as Sherman Oaks.

Homelessness in the City of Los Angeles decreased for the first time in 2024, according to Bass’ office, and fell a second time in 2025. This slowdown comes at the same time Los Angeles County saw more than 50,000 residents move out between July 2024 and July 2025, according to Fox Business.

Epstein sees the city’s handling of homelessness and the exodus of businesses and residents as a “failure” to its citizens. In his view, building more housing won’t solve the homelessness issue if the city doesn’t address the reasons behind the crisis such as mental health and addiction.

“Our politicians keep blaming (homelessness) on the lack of housing, which is a bunch of bullshit,” Epstein said. “…We’re raising our children walking over homeless encampments.”

The city’s policies on rental housing, such as rent caps, is also an important issue to the organization, along with Measure ULA — the transfer tax placed all on real estate property transactions above a certain threshold. A 4 percent tax is placed on transactions starting at $5.3 million, and a 5.5 percent tax is placed on deals of $10.6 million and higher.

These actions are driving out builders, investors and mom-and-pop landlords, Epstein said, and make operating a rental for passive income “not economically feasible.” He says the corporate landlords politicians try to villanize are only swallowing up the market because the city has made it to where they’re the only ones who can shoulder the risk.

“The reality is that no one’s going to want to buy these toxic assets… for the price they’re going to pay except for the corporations that can hold on to them, manage them and deal with all the expenses,” Epstein said. “(City officials) are creating the rot from the inside.”