1 ALAMEDA
CITY COUNCIL
MEETING
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Staff Presenter(s):
Nancy Bronstein
Interim City Manager
Bill Chapin
Director of Rent Program
John D. Lê
Assistant City Attorney
Alameda City Attorney’s Office
Termination of
Local Emergency
Current Considerations Affecting Terminating
or Continuing Local Emergency Declaration
Since March 2020, the City Council has taken numerous actions to protect the health of Alameda residents and our local businesses. Some of the same policy actions are presented for the Council’s consideration of whether to terminate the local emergency:
• Business Protections
• Operational Impacts
• Remote meetings
• Rent Control Protections
Business Protections
• Under AMC § 6-62.1 et seq., the Council capped delivery service charges to restaurants at 15%.
• Cap is tied to duration of local emergency.
• If local emergency terminates, amend AMC § 6-62.1 et seq to sunset with termination of state emergency.
Operational Impacts
• Ordinances 3267 and 3272 authorized City Manager to:
• Suspend competitive bidding; and
• Spend up to $2 million to address local and operational impacts. • These authorities will terminate.
• Request authorization to permit City Manager, and the City Attorney for City Attorney staff, to continue permitting remote and/or flexible work schedules and redeployment of affected staff, consistent with applicable laws, Council directions, and labor agreements.
• Unused COVID-19 administrative leave authorized by Ordinance 3267 will be moved to an administrative leave bank for each applicable employee.
Remote Meetings
• AB 361
• Sunshine Ordinance (Ordinance 3271)
• Sunset provision tied to local emergency
• If local emergency terminates, Council has authority to meet remotely under AB 361 with technical amendments to Ord. 3271 to conform to state law.
Rent Control Protections
• Alameda’s Eviction Moratorium
• Banked Rent Increases
• Unpaid Rent Deferral and Repayment Time Frames
• Deferred Payment Agreements
• Utility Shutoffs
• State Law Provisions
• Alameda County’s Eviction Moratorium
City of Alameda Rental Protections
Current Protection Effect of Terminating Local Emergency “No Fault” Eviction Moratorium
• Prohibition on certain “no fault” evictions
(Owner Move-In & Capital Improvement Plans).
Ord. 3275, Sec. 1(E)
• Ends 30 days after termination of local emergency.
Ord. 3275, Sec. 2(A)
Banked Rent Increases
• No AGA rent increases after March 1, 2020
(automatically banked). Ord. 3275, Sec. 7.
• Starting May 1, 2022, landlords may resume
imposing AGA rent increases, but not banked
rent increases. Ord. 3315, Sec. 2(a)
• Prohibition on banked increases ends after 60
days. Ord. 3315, Sec. 2(a)
• Landlords may impose banked increases but may
not take more than any one increase in a 12 month
period. AMC sec. 6-58.50(A)
Utility Shutoffs
• Landlord must refrain from cutting off utilities
during local emergency, except for emergency
repairs. Ord. 3275, Sec. 6
• This protection would end immediately upon
termination of local emergency. Ord. 3275, Sec. 6
City of Alameda Rental Protections
Current Protection Effect of Terminating Local Emergency Nonpayment of Rent - Eviction Moratorium & Deferred Payment • Tenants have affirmative defense to eviction for
nonpayment of rent due to “substantial loss of
income” (COVID-19 related). Ord. 3275, Sec. 2
• Rent owed has no due date until termination of
local emergency. Ord. 3275, Sec. 2
• Tenants must resume regular and ongoing rent
payments 30 days after termination of local
emergency. All unpaid rent paid within 13 months,
but state law may require earlier payment. Ord.
3275, Sec. 3; Ord. 3284, Sec. 2
• Affirmative defense to eviction available for 7
months (if preempted by state law) or 13 months
(if not preempted). Ord. 3275, Sec. 2(A) & 3;
C.C.P . § 1179.05(b)
Deferred Payment Agreements
• If the parties agreed to a deferred payment
agreement, the landlord must waive their right to
evict. Ord. 3287, Sec. 2
• Termination of local emergency has no impact.
State Law Rental Protections
Current Protection Effect of Terminating Local Emergency Nonpayment of Rent - Eviction Moratorium & Deferred Payment • If certain requirements have been met (e.g.
tenants provided financial hardship declarations
and paid 25% of owed rent beginning September
2020), unpaid rent converts to consumer debt
and may not be grounds for eviction. AB 3088,
SB 91, AB 832, AB 2179, C.C.P . §
1179.05(a)(2)(B)-(C) & (c)(5)
• Tenants must resume regular and ongoing rent
payments beginning August 1, 2022; all unpaid
rent paid by August 31, 2023. C.C.P . §
1179.05(a)(2)(A)-(B)
• City’s affirmative defense to eviction terminates 7
months after local emergency ends. Ord. 3275,
Sec. 3; C.C.P . §1179.05(b)
• Otherwise, same as under current protections.
Alameda County’s Eviction Moratorium
• Alameda County’s eviction moratorium remains in effect until 60 days after County Public Health Emergency ends. • Prohibits all evictions with few exceptions.
• 12 months to repay overdue rent
• All unpaid rent is consumer debt and not grounds for
eviction
• The City’s position has been County laws/regulations
generally do not apply in incorporated cities, including the City of Alameda. See Cal. Const., art. XI, § 7, City of South San Francisco v. Berry (1953) 120 Cal.App.2d 252, 253.