Ordinance 3293CITY OF ALAMEDA ORDINANCE NO. 3293
New Series
AN URGENCY UNCODIFIED ORDINANCE AMENDING IN PART
UNCODIFIED ORDINANCE NO. 3275 AND IMPOSING AND
EXTENDING WITHIN THE CITY OF ALAMEDA A TEMPORARY
MORATORIUM ON RENT INCREASES FOR FULLY REGULATED
RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNITS UNTIL 60 DAYS AFTER THE
RECISSION OF THE DECLARATION OF LOCAL EMERGENCY OR
JUNE 30, 2021, WHICHEVER OCCURS LATER
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 following:
A novel coronavirus (named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization) was first
detected in December 2019. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has
stated that COVID-19 is a serious public health threat, based on current information. Cases
of COVID-19 have been diagnosed throughout the world, the United States, the State of
California, the County of Alameda and the City of Alameda.
The exact modes of transmission of COVID-19, the factors facilitating human to
human transmission, the extent of asymptomatic viral shedding, the groups most at risk of
serious illness, the attack rate, and the case fatality rate all remain active areas of
investigation. The CDC believes, at this time, the symptoms appear two to fourteen days
after exposure. Currently, there are no approved vaccine or specific anti-viral treatment for
COVID-19 in the United States. While there are vaccines in the final approval stages, the
CDC has stated that production and distribution of the vaccines may take several months
and that it will be imperative to continue preventive actions, such as social distancing, to
reduce the spread of COVID-19 during that time.
Actions are being taken to protect public health and limit the spread of COVID-19
but whether those actions will be successful is unknown at this time.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor of the State of California has declared
a State of Emergency for the State and issued numerous Executive Orders to protect the
public, County Health Officers throughout the State, including the County of Alameda, have
also issued orders and directives in an effort to protect the public, and, on March 17, 2020,
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council of the City of Alameda declared
a local emergency as set forth in Ordinance No. 3267, which declaration of a local
emergency continues to this day; and
WHEREAS, as a result of these various declarations, orders and directives, and the
threat to public health and safety due to the contagious nature of COVID-19, residents
Statewide have been ordered not to gather, public and private gatherings of persons have
been limited, many schools, kindergartens, and day care centers have been closed, non-
essential service businesses are restricted operationally, and essential service businesses
have had their hours or means of operation impacted, all of which have had significant
financial impacts to residents and businesses in the community; and
WHEREAS, many employers have laid off or will need to lay off employees, working
Alameda residents with children may be compelled not to work in order to provide care for
their children, and many Alameda residents who are working and become ill due to COVID-
19, or who must self -quarantine due to COVID-19 because they have been exposed to
COVID-19, do not have paid sick leave; and
WHEREAS, those residents financially impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic
may not be able to pay rent, or be faced with the Hobson's Choice of paying rent and not
having sufficient funds for food, medical care or other necessities for themselves and their
families; and
WHEREAS, residents unable to pay rent under these circumstances, or tenants
subject to no fault evictions, would be faced with the prospect of being evicted from their
homes; and
WHEREAS, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the City of Alameda, the public
health, safety and welfare are not adequately protected from the possibility of evictions
for the failure of a residential tenant to pay rent, for evictions following a foreclosure of
a mortgage or for no fault evictions, and it is in the interest of the City, all residential
tenants, and of the community as a whole, that the City adopt an ordinance to protect
residential tenants, who may face eviction due to a substantial loss of income or
other adverse economic circumstances, arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and
to protect residential tenants from no-fault evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic;
and
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 tenants, and the adverse impacts that would result from
evictions due to a residential tenant's loss of substantial income or other adverse
financial circumstances arising out of or during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City
Council determines it is in the interest of immediately preserving the public health, safety
and general welfare to adopt this urgency ordinance; and
WHEREAS, in response to community concern that rents in Alameda were
rising at a rate greater than household income, the City Council has adopted a number
of rent control ordinances, the most recent of which was adopted on September 17,
2019 (Ordinance No. 3250); and
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 3250 in part provides that (a) for rental units subject
to local rent control, e.g., multi -family units for which a certificate of occupancy was
issued prior to February 1, 1995, landlords shall not increase rents by more than the
Annual General Adjustment (AGA), (b) the AGA means 70% of the percentage change
in the Consumer Price Index for the 12 -month period ending April of each year, (c) the
AGA between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020 is 2.8%, and (d) the AGA
between September 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021 is 1%; and
WHEREAS, on April 21, 2020, City Council adopted an urgency ordinance
(Ordinance No. 3275) that, in part, placed a temporary moratorium on rent increases
for fully regulated rental units until January 1, 2021; and
WHEREAS, given that many Alameda tenants have suffered or will suffer
significant financial impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, whether directly
or indirectly, which impacts are likely to last for months beyond the rescission of the
Declaration of the State and/or Local Emergency, and that any rent increases during
the remainder of 2020 and for the first six months of 2021 therefore threaten the public
health, safety and welfare of Alameda tenants, including seniors, those on fixed
incomes, those with very low, low or moderate incomes, and those with special needs,
to the extent that such persons may be forced to choose between paying rent, even
after the Declaration of the State and/or Local Emergency has been rescinded, and
providing food, clothing, medical care or child care for themselves and their families;
and
WHEREAS, rent increases during the remainder of 2020 and into the future until
the State and Local Emergency is declared over threaten to displace households at a
time when households are being directed to shelter in place, thereby making it
extremely difficult for households to find alternative housing and, even when the
shelter in place directives are lifted, rent increases during the remainder of 2020 and
into the future as long as the State and Local Emergency exists would still threaten to
displace households because many households may not have employment for some
time and even those households who do return to work will need time to recover
financially; 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, immediate 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 urgency; 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 and December 15, 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 urgency ordinance the following
is adopted: Paragraph 7 of Section 2 of Ordinance No. 3275 is amended to read as
follows
"7. For fully regulated residential rental units, beginning April 22, 2020 and
ending 60 days after the rescission of the declaration of the Local Emergency or June 30,
2021, whichever is later, no landlord shall increase the rent in effect on April 21, 2020.
Any notice of a rent increase served prior to December 15, 2020, which increase was to
take effect on or after April 22, 2020, shall be void and have no force or effect. This
provision shall not be construed to preclude any landlord affected by this Section 7 from
banking rent increases for future implementation once rent increases are no longer
prohibited following the procedures set forth in Section 6-58.70 of the Alameda Municipal
Code and as further explained by implementing regulations."
SECTION 3: Waiver.
A landlord may request that the requirements of this Ordinance be waived or modified
by filing a petition with the Program Administrator as set forth in Alameda Municipal Code
Section 6-58.75.
SECTION 4: Remedies and Penalties for Violations
In the event of a violation of this Ordinance:
1. An aggrieved tenant may institute a civil proceeding for injunctive and/or
declaratory relief, money damages of not Tess than three times actual damages
(including damages for mental or emotional distress as specified below) and what
other relief that a Court deems appropriate. If there is an award of damages based
on mental or emotional distress, the award shall be trebled if the trier of fact finds
the landlord acted in knowing violation of, in reckless disregard of, this Ordinance.
2. The City may issue an administrative citation, the fine for which shall be $250 for
the first offense, $500 for the second offense within a one year period, and $1000
for a third offense within one year.
3. A person shall be guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or
a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1000 per violation, or by
imprisonment in the County jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by both
a fine and imprisonment.
4. Any aggrieved person, including the City and the People of the State of California
may enforce, and seek to enjoin, a violation of this Ordinance by means of a civil
action. The burden of proof in such cases shall be the preponderance of evidence.
As part of any civil action brought by the City or the People of the State of California
to enforce this Ordinance a court shall assess against any person who commits,
continues to commit, allows or maintains any violation of this Ordinance a civil
penalty in an amount up to the greater of $2500 per violation per day or $10,000
per violation, 50% payable to the City and 50% to the person or persons whose
rights were violated. In addition, any violator shall be liable for an additional civil
penalty of up to $5000 for each offense committed against a person who is a Senior
Adult, has a Disability, or is in a household with one or more minor children.
SECTION 5: The Community Development Director may adopt administrative
regulations to effectuate and implement this Ordinance.
SECTION 6: 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 7. 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 8. As an emergency ordinance, this Ordinance becomes effective
immediately upon its adoption at a first reading by a four-fifths vote of the City Council.
PresidinggOff
Attest:
Lara Weisiger, City Clerk
Af the City Coufacii
I, 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 15th day of December 2020, by the following vote to wit:
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 16th day of December 2020.
Lara Weisiger, Cite:
Clerk City of Alameda
APPROVED AS TO FORM:.
Yibin Shen,City Attomey
City of Alameda