Resolution 15388CITY OF ALAMEDA RESOLUTION NO. 15388
SETTING A RENT PROGRAM FEE FOR THE CITY'S RENT REVIEW,
RENT STABILIZATION AND LIMITATIONS ON EVICTIONS
ORDINANCE AND IMPLEMENTING POLICIES FOR FISCAL YEAR
2018-19
WHEREAS, on March 1, 2016, the Alameda City Council adopted a Rent Review,
Rent Stabilization and Limitations on Evictions Ordinance (Ordinance No. 3148) to protect
local tenants from the rapidly increasing cost of rental housing that is the result of rising
rents and a tight rental market; and
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 3148 went into effect March 31, 2016; and
WHEREAS, for fiscal year 2016/2017, the City Council chose to fund the various
programs made necessary by Ordinance No. 3148 with General Fund revenues rather
than adopt a fee to fund the programs in order to gather more data about the programs
and actual cost to administer the programs; and
WHEREAS, the Alameda City Council has adopted and will adopt various Policies,
such as the Capital Improvement Plan Policy, that implements Ordinance No. 3148; and
WHEREAS, based on a fee study, to fund the various programs made necessary
by Ordinance No. 3148 and its implementing policies in Fiscal Year 2017-2018, on June
6, 2017, the City Council adopted a resolution establishing the Rent Program Fee of $120
for each rental unit; and
WHEREAS, as part of a periodic evaluation of the amount of the Rent Program
Fee, staff through a consultant conducted a fee study ("the Fee Study") to determine for
Fiscal Year 2018-2019: (a) the reasonable cost of the services necessitated by the
Ordinance/Policies, and (b) the requisite amount of the fee ("the Rent Program Fee") to
be imposed on rental property owners to defray the costs of such services; and
WHEREAS, the City retained SCI Consulting Group (SCI) to prepare the Fee
Study; and
WHEREAS, as part of the Fee Study, SCI worked closely with the Alameda
Housing Authority and the City's Finance, Law and Community Development
Departments' staff to understand all of the administrative and enforcement procedures
necessary to administer the Ordinance/Policies; and
WHEREAS, the Fee Study for fiscal year 2018/2019 demonstrates that the amount
of the fee to be imposed on rental property owners is a function of:
9 The number of applicable rental units covered by the Ordinance/Policies
9 The amount of staffing to administer the programs (e.g. receiving and tracking
rent increase notices, scheduling and staffing hearings before the Rent Review
Advisory Committee, reviewing Capital Improvement Plans, providing legal
advice and support, billing and collection, enforcement activities, etc.)
e Contracted services (e.g. hearing officers, translators, etc.)
® Materials and supplies to support the administration of the Program (including
office space and utilities, program software, printing, postage, office equipment,
etc.); and
WHEREAS, SCI, by conducting a rigorous analysis of the April 2018 Assessor's
lien roll data provided by the Alameda County Assessor's office and other information that
has been submitted to the City concerning rental units in the City, determined that 13,389
rental units in the City would be subject to the Ordinance/Policies (and hence, subject to
a Rent Program Fee); and
WHEREAS, the costs associated with the administration and regulation of the
Ordinance/Policies include direct and indirect labor costs, contracted services, and
supplies cost and the Fee Study confirms that the tasks and estimated associated labor
hours, as developed by the City and the Housing Authority staff, are reasonable and
accurate; and
WHEREAS, the Fee Study determined the costs attributable to the
Ordinance/Policies are estimated to be $1,586,800; and
WHEREAS, based on the Fee Study, City staff has recommended that the City
Council establish for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 a Rent Program Fee of $106 per rental unit;
and
WHEREAS, the Rent Program Fee will be charged annually to rental property
owners on a per rental unit basis and will be billed by the Alameda Finance Department;
and
WHEREAS, if this Program Fee were not imposed on rental property owners, the
City's General Fund would absorb the cost to administer the various programs which
would be an unfair burden on taxpayers of the community who neither own rental property
nor are renters; and
WHEREAS, for the reasons stated in the agenda report of June 5, 2018, adoption
of this resolution is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article XI, § 7 of the California Constitution, the City of
Alameda intends to exercise its police power by adopting a regulatory fee, which does
not exceed the reasonable cost of providing services necessary to carry out the purposes
and provisions of Ordinance No. 3148 and any related Policies hereinafter adopted by
the Alameda City Council.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALAMEDA
RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. A Rent Program Fee of $106 is imposed on every rental property owner in the
City of Alameda for each rental unit owned and offered for rent, which Rent Program Fee
will be billed by the Alameda Finance Department.
Section 2. The Rent Program Fee shall be deemed delinquent if it is unpaid 30 days after
the date this Resolution becomes operative.
Section 3. This Rent Program Fee shall be periodically evaluated at the discretion of the
Community Development Department to ensure that it reflects the reasonable costs
incurred to administer the various services and programs under the Ordinance/Policies.
Section 4. This Resolution is effective immediately upon its adoption but it will not be
operative until July 1, 2018.
1, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and
regularly adopted and passed by the Council of the City of Alameda in a regular meeting
assembled on the 5th day of June, by the following vote to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers Ezzy Ashcraft, Matarrese, Oddie, Vella and
Mayor Spencer — 5.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTENTIONS: None.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the
City of Alameda on the 61h day of June, 2018.
Lara Weisiger, C4 Clerk
City of Alameda
Approved as to form:
Janet q../Kern, City A orney
City of Alameda