Ordinance 3284CITY OF ALAMEDA ORDINANCE NO. 3284
New Series
AN UNCODIFIED ORDINANCE AMENDING UNCODIFIED
ORDINANCE NO. 3275 TO EXTEND THE TIME THAT TENANTS
MUST REPAY "DEFERRED RENT" FROM 210 DAYS TO 395 DAYS
FOLLOWING THE CITY COUNCIL'S RESCISSION OF THE LOCAL
EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, Section 3-12 of the City Charter authorizes the City Council, with a
4/5 vote, to adopt, as an urgency measure, an ordinance for the immediate
preservation of the public health or safety without following the procedures otherwise
required prior to adoption of an ordinance; and
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, conditions of extreme peril to the health, safety and welfare of persons
have arisen in the world, the nation, the State, the County of Alameda and the City of
Alameda due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, in response to this pandemic, and in order to protect public health and
safety, the Governor of the State of California declared a State of Emergency; and
WHEREAS, in response to this pandemic, and in order to protect public health and
safety, the City Council of the City of Alameda on March 17, 2020, declared a local
emergency; and
WHEREAS, on April 7, 2020, and again on June 16, 2020, the City Council extended
the local emergency until the State's declaration of emergency is rescinded, or sooner
should it be appropriate to lift the declaration of local emergency; and
WHEREAS, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the City of Alameda, the City
Council determined that the public health, safety and welfare were not adequately
protected from the possibility of evictions for the failure of a residential or commercial
tenant to pay rent, or for evictions following a foreclosure of a mortgage, and it was in
the interest of the City, all residential and commercial tenants, all residential and
commercial mortgagors, and of the community as a whole, that the City adopt
ordinances to protect residential and commercial tenants, and residential and
commercial mortgagors, who face eviction due to a substantial loss of income or
other adverse economic circumstances, arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the Council most recently adopted Ordinance to protect residential
and commercial tenants, and residential and commercial mortgagors, who face eviction
due to substantial loss of income, or other adverse economic circumstances, arising out
of the COVID-19 pandemic was Ordinance No. 3275, adopted on April 21, 2020; and
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 3275 provides in part that tenants have under certain
circumstances a substantive defense for not paying rent between March 1, 2020 and 30
days after the City Council rescinds the declaration of local emergency, and that any
"deferred rent" that accrues between March 1, 2020 and 30 days after the Council
rescinds the declaration of local emergency must be paid within 180 days thereafter in
order to avoid being evicted for failing to pay rent; and
WHEREAS, at the time Ordinance No. 3275 was adopted, it was uncertain how
long the State or local emergency would be in effect and therefore providing tenants with
a six-month time frame (commencing 30 days following the rescission of the declaration
of local emergency) in which to pay deferred rent was a reasonable period of time in which
to do so; and
WHEREAS, the State and local emergency continues, now into its fourth month,
and there is no clear indication that either will be rescinded soon; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds the conditions that were expressed in its findings in
Ordinance No. 3275 continue to exist and incorporate them herein by reference; and
WHEREAS, if the time period for tenants to pay any deferred rent were limited to
180 days (commencing 30 days following the rescission of the declaration of local
emergency), the practical effect of such limitation would be that tenants would need to
double their rent payments for six months, exacerbating what is already a financial
hardship for many tenants
WHEREAS, in light of the numerous serious concerns set forth herein, including
but not limited to the current and immediate threat to the health, safety, and welfare of
the City's residential and commercial tenants, and the adverse impacts that would
result from evictions due to a residential or a commercial tenant's loss of
substantial income or other adverse financial circumstances arising out of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council determines it is in the interest of preserving the
public health, safety and general welfare to adopt this ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that, if a temporary
moratorium on evictions from residential rental units due to a resident's loss of
substantial income arising out of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic were
not imposed, the public health, safety and welfare will be threatened because tenants
would have no affirmative defense in response to a landlord's taking action to evict
tenants who were unable to pay rent due to a substantial loss of income or other
adverse financial circumstances arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that, if a temporary
moratorium on commercial evictions due to loss of substantial income arising out of the
consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic were not imposed, the public health, safety
and welfare will be threatened because commercial tenants would have no affirmative
defense in response to a landlord's taking action to evict commercial tenants who
were unable to pay rent due to a substantial loss of income or other adverse financial
circumstances arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and promoting stability amongst
commercial tenancies is critical to protecting public health; and
WHEREAS, for reasons set forth above, this ordinance is declared by the City
Council to be necessary for preserving the public welfare, health, or safety and to avoid
a current and direct threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the community, and the
recitals above taken together constitute the City Council's statements of the reasons
constituting such necessity; and
WHEREAS, adoption of this ordinance is exempt from review under the California
Environmental Quality Act: Section 15378 (not a project); and Section 15061(b)(3) (no
significant environmental impact); and
WHEREAS, by the staff reports, testimony, and documentary evidence presented at
the March 17, 2020, April 7, 2020, April 21, 2020, June 16, 2020, and July 21, 2020 City
Council meetings, the City Council has been provided with additional information upon
which the findings and actions set forth in this ordinance are based.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ALAMEDA does ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. The City Council finds and determines the foregoing recitals to be
true and correct and hereby incorporates them into this ordinance.
SECTION 2. From the effective date of this ordinance, Paragraphs 3 and 4
of Section 2 of Ordinance No. 3275 are amended to read as follows:
3. Notwithstanding the time period in subparagraph A of paragraph 2 of this
Section 2, the substantive defense set forth in subparagraph A of paragraph 2 of
this Section 2 shall be available to residential and commercial tenants, and to
residential and commercial mortgagors, between March 1, 2020 and 395 days
after the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic as evidenced by the City
rescinding its declaration of local emergency, as further explained by implementing
regulations. This substantive defense shall not be available for the non-payment
of rent, to a no fault eviction, or to an eviction proceeding following a foreclosure
that occurred before March 1, 2020, nor the non-payment of rent, a no fault
eviction, or an eviction proceeding following a foreclosure that accrues 30 days
after the City rescinds its declaration of local emergency.
4. Nothing in this Ordinance shall relieve any tenant of liability for unpaid rent,
whether such rent accrued before March 1, 2020, during the City's declaration of
a local emergency, or 30 days after the City's rescission of the declaration of the
local emergency. A landlord shall not, however, charge or collect a late fee for rent
that is delayed for the reasons stated in this Ordinance and Ordinance No. 3275,
as further explained by implementing regulations. If a tenant has not made the full
amount of the rent payments between March 1, 2020 and 30 days after the
rescission of the declaration of local emergency ("the Deferred Payment"), any rent
the landlord receives following the 3011 day after the rescission of the declaration
of local emergency that the tenant does not designate as a Deferred Payment shall
not be allocated to the Deferred Payment.
SECTION 3: This 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. 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,
such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
The City Council declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section,
subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or
more section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase be declared invalid.
SECTION 5. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the
expiration of thirty (30) days from the date of its final passage.
i
n4ffinfMoUfFer of the Cit Council
Attest:
/ - - - zq"
Lara Weisiger, City Clerk
I certify that the foregoing Ordinance was introduced on July 21, 2020 and
passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Alameda at a regular meeting
thereof held on this 1 st day of September 2020 by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Daysog, Knox White, Oddie, Vella and
Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft — 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 September 2020.
Lara Weisiger, City C16rk
City of Alameda
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Yibin Sh6 ,, ity Attorney
City of Alameda