Ordinance 3149CITY OF ALAMEDA ORDINANCE NO.3149
New Series
URGENCY ORDINANCE EXTENDING WITHIN THE CITY OF
ALAMEDA A TEMPORARY (AN ADDITIONAL 22 DAY)
MORATORIUM ON RENT INCREASES FOR CERTAIN
RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTIES AND ON EVICTIONS
FROM ALL RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PROPERTIES EXCEPT FOR
JUST CAUSE
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 36937 allows a City, including a
Charter City, to adopt an urgency ordinance to take effect immediately upon its
adoption for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety upon a finding of
facts constituting the urgency thereof; and
WHEREAS, Section 3 -12 of the Alameda City Charter allows the City to adopt
an urgency ordinance to take effect immediately upon its adoption for the
preservation of the public peace, health or safety upon a finding of facts constituting
the urgency therefor; and
WHEREAS, such an urgency measure requires a four -fifths vote (4 votes) of
the City Council for adoption and, as provided further herein, this Ordinance shall be
in effect for 22 days —until March 31, 2016 -- unless extended further by the City
Council); and
WHEREAS, there is a strong demand for rental housing in the City of
Alameda which has resulted in a shortage of rental housing and for more than a year
community members have reported (a) to the City Council at City Council meetings,
(b) to the City Council in written communications, (c) to the Rent Review Advisory
Committee and (d) to and through the press that there have been a substantial
increases in rent and that there has been a substantial number of evictions without
cause; and
WHEREAS, in response the City Council directed City staff to present to the
Council various tenant protection policy options, including strengthening the City's
rent review procedures using the Rent Review Advisory Committee, or adopting rent
control /stabilization and /or just cause eviction policies; and
WHEREAS, community members also reported that the City Council's
discussion and direction to study rent control and just cause policy options have
created market uncertainty and concern among some property owners that if they
did not immediately raise rents and /or take action to terminate tenancies without just
cause, they could face a loss of income and property values; and
WHEREAS, according to the 2008 -2012 Comprehensive Housing
Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, 2975 very low- income renter households in
Alameda pay more than half of their incomes for housing and are at risk of
displacement; and
WHEREAS, according to Real- Answers (Third Quarter, 2015), the average
monthly rent for market -rate units of apartment buildings with fifty or more units in
the City of Alameda have increased by 52% between 2011 and 2015; and
WHEREAS, the City's rental units are almost fully occupied with a 1.4%
average vacancy rate (as of 2013) compared to a County -wide average of 3.8%
vacancy rate, and the vacancy rate is so low that there is not enough available
supply to offer meaningful choice in the rental market; and
WHEREAS, between 2000 and 2013, median household income for those
who rent in Alameda increased by 29 %, which has not kept pace with rising rents
that increased by 54% over the same 13 -year time period, and has created a
growing "affordability gap" between incomes and rents; and
WHEREAS, given this increased housing cost burden faced by many
Alameda residents, excessive rental increases threaten the public peace, health or
safety of Alameda residents, including seniors, those on fixed incomes, those
households with very low -, low- and moderate - incomes, and those with special
needs to the extent that such persons may be forced to choose between paying rent
and providing food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their families; and
WHEREAS, excessive rental increases could result in the displacement of
those Alameda residents identified above; and
WHEREAS, in light of the above, on November 5, 2015, the City Council
adopted an ordinance (Ordinance No. 3140) on an urgency basis a temporary
moratorium (65 days) that (a) as to certain residential rental units prohibits an owner
of residential rental property from noticing an increase in rents, or increasing rents,
that on a cumulative basis over the 12 months preceding the effective date of the
proposed rent increase is 8% or more and (b) as to all residential rental units
prohibits an owner of residential rental property from taking any action to terminate
a tenancy except for the grounds set forth in the Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, in light of the above, on December 1, 2015, the City Council
adopted an ordinance (Ordinance No. 3143) on an urgency basis that modified in
certain respects the grounds upon which an owner of residential rental property
could take action to terminate a tenancy but that did not extend the expiration date
of the temporary moratorium; and
WHEREAS, on November 5, 2015, the City Council directed staff to present
to it at its January 5, 2016 meeting proposed ordinances that would (a) revise and
strengthen further the City's current rent review procedures using the Rent Review
Advisory Committee but include limitations on evictions and requiring relocation
assistance for certain evictions or (b) impose rent stabilization regulations, limit
evictions and require relocation assistance for certain evictions; and
WHEREAS, on January 5, 2016, the City Council conducted a public hearing
concerning several proposed ordinances as described above, took public testimony
concerning those ordinances over the course of several hours and then deliberated
on the issues for several more hours; and
WHEREAS, the City Council was unable to reach consensus as to an
ordinance but provided direction to staff to return to the Council on February 16,
2016 an ordinance that would address rent review and rent stabilization procedures,
limitations on certain evictions and relocation assistance; and
WHEREAS, because moratorium ordinances (Ordinance Nos. 3140 and
3143 were set to expire on January 9, 2016 prior to the Council's further
consideration of this matter, the City Council on January 5, 2016, by a unanimous
vote, adopted on an urgency basis an extension of the moratorium (Ordinance No.
3144) to March 9, 2016; and
WHEREAS, City staff prepared "Principles of Agreement" that reflected, to
the best of staff's understanding, the items on which the City Council had reached
consensus and those which it had not; and
WHEREAS, City staff placed on the City Council's regular agenda for
February 2, 2016 a discussion of the Principles of Agreement so that staff would
have a more clear understanding of the elements that the Council wanted to consider
on February 16, 2016; and
WHEREAS, on February 2, 2016, the City Council received an agenda report,
took public testimony, deliberated among themselves and provided direction to staff
concerning the ordinance that would be returned to it on February 16, 2016; and
WHEREAS, the City Clerk published and posted a notice of public hearing for
the City Council's regular meeting on February 16, 2016 for the purpose of
considering an ordinance concerning rent review procedures, rent stabilization,
limitations on evictions and relocation assistance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the information and reports in
its agenda reports dated November 4, 2015, December 1, 2015, January 5, 2016,
February 2, 2016 and February 16, 2016 and the public testimony received at its
meetings on November 4, 2015, December 1, 2015, January 5, 2016, February 2,
2016 and February 16, 2016; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has introduced an Ordinance that provides for
strengthening the rent review procedures using the Rent Review Advisory
Committee, provides for rent stabilization for certain rental units, places limitations
on evictions and provides for relocation assistance for certain evictions but that
Ordinance, assuming the City Council adopts the Ordinance on March 1, 2016, will
not take effect until March 31, 2016, after the expiration of the current moratorium
period; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that if the temporary
moratorium on rent increases and just cause evictions, as set forth in Ordinance No.
3140, as amended by Ordinance No. 3143, and as extended by Ordinance No. 3144,
is not extended in order that the Ordinance as introduced, be adopted and then
effective 30 days later, the public peace, health or safety will be immediately
threatened because owners of residential rental property would have an immediate
incentive to increase rents and /or serve eviction notices without cause before the
effective date of the Ordinance as introduced and such increases or evictions would
defeat the intent and purpose of any potential future regulations and substantially
impair their effective implementation; and
WHEREAS, for the reasons set forth above, this Ordinance is declared by the
City Council to be necessary for the public peace, health or safety and to avoid a
current, immediate and direct threat to the public peace, health or safety of the
community, and the recitals above as well as all agenda reports and public testimony
concerning these matters, taken together, constitute the City Council's statements
of the reasons constituting such necessity and urgency; and
WHEREAS, adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from review under the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the following, each a
separate and independent ground: CEQA Guidelines, Section 15378 (adoption of
this urgency ordinance is an administrative action of the City Council and not a
project under CEQA); and Section 15061(b)(3) (even if adoption of the ordinance is
a project, it is exempt under CEQA because there is no significant effect on the
environment).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of
Alameda as follows:
SECTION 1. Recitals Incorporated. The City Council finds and determines
the foregoing recitals to be true and correct and hereby incorporates them into this
Ordinance.
SECTION 2. Temporary Moratorium Extended. From March 9, 2016 to
March 31, 2016 (unless extended further), Ordinance No. 3140, as amended by
Ordinance No. 3143, and extended by Ordinance No. 3144, shall remain in full force
and effect.
SECTION 3. Authority for Enacting this Urgency Ordinance. This
urgency Ordinance is enacted pursuant to the City of Alameda's general police
powers, Section 3 -12 of the Charter of the City of Alameda, Article XI of the California
Constitution and Government Code Section 36937.
SECTION 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or
phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of the Ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have
passed this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase
thereof, regardless of the fact that one or more sections, subsections, sentences,
clauses or phrases may be held invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. Effective date. Rents within the City of Alameda (as to certain
residential rental units) and all evictions within the City of Alameda (as to all
residential rental units) on or after the adoption of this Ordinance shall be subject to
this Ordinance and, as an urgency Ordinance, this Ordinance becomes effective
immediately upon its adoption at a first reading by a four-fifths vote of the City
Council.
Attest:
Lara Weisiger, igy —Clerk
1, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was duly and
regularly adopted and passed by the Council of the City of Alameda in a regular
meeting assembled on the 1 s' day of March, 2016, by the following vote to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers Daysog, Ezzy Ashcraft, Matarrese,
Oddie and Mayor Spencer — 5.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTENTIONS: None.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal
of said City this 2nd day of March, 2016.
Lara Weisiger, Uty
ity Clerk
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City of Alameda
Approved as to form:
Janet C. Kern, City Attorney
City of Alameda