On behalf of City Manager Ed Shikada, please find below the staff responses to questions from Vice Mayor Greer Stone regarding the Monday, June 1st Council Meeting consent agenda item.
Item 4:
Title: Recommendation from Policy and Services Committee to City Council to Indefinitely Defer Both Expansion of the Rental Registry Program to Properties with Two or Fewer Units and Further Consideration of a Possible Rent Stabilization Ordinance. CEQA: Exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
Council Question 1
I have a question regarding item #2 on the 6/15 CC agenda regarding the P&S recommendation to indefinitely defer rent stabilization. In reflection on the P&S discussion, I realized that we never discussed whether there should be a threshold of the average percentage increase in rent that might trigger a reexamination of the decision to continue pursuing a potential rent stabilization ordinance. For example, if in the future the rent registry shows an average increase of 8%, would we reexamine the need to pass a rent stabilization ordinance then? Is this an issue that P&S could address later this year or would this issue be precluded if the Council approves this item on consent? If the latter, can a consent item be pulled and sent back to committee or does a pulled item need to first be heard by the full Council?
Staff response:
No, this action does not preclude the City Council from initiating reconsideration in the future. Staff will annually prepare an Information Report for the City Council and public to review self-reported rent increase data. Councilmembers could make this a referral to Policy & Services during the annual work plan process, submit a colleague's memo, or raise through any other future opportunity.