ATTACHMENT NO. 1
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-113
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, DIRECTING PREPARATION OF THE ADDITIONAL REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT RESIDENTIAL RENT STABILIZATION, JUST CAUSE EVICTION, AND OTHER PROTECTIONS FOR RESIDENTS FACING HOUSING INSTABILITY WHEREAS, a shortage of decent, safe, affordable, and sanitary housing exists in the City of Pomona, causing the displacement of long-term residents, over 50% of whom are renters according to the 2019 American Community Survey; and WHEREAS, eviction creates extreme hardships for individuals and households of limited means in Pomona, given the shortage of affordable housing within the City and Orange County in general; and WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an enormous physical, economic, and psychological toll on the residents of Pomona, many of whom are lower-income renters experiencing either reduction of work hours and job loss, or heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 where they have continued to work in service-sector and other positions that cannot be performed from home; and WHEREAS, the City of Pomona, with a majority Latino population, has experienced many confirmed COVID-19 cases, at some of the highest rates in Los Angeles County, and deaths from COVID-19, leading to even greater housing instability; and WHEREAS, housing instability threatens the public peace, health, and safety, because eviction from one’s home can lead to prolonged homelessness, increased residential mobility, loss of community, strain on household finances due to the necessity of paying rental application fees and security deposits, stress and anxiety experienced by those displaced, increased commute times and traffic impacts if displaced workers cannot find affordable housing within the city in which they work, and interruption of the education of children in the home; and WHEREAS, the Pomona City Council has considered and received public testimony at multiple meetings from residents threatened by eviction without good cause and rapidly escalating rental rates who have advocated for the adoption of rent stabilization and just cause eviction regulations, among others; and WHEREAS, displacement from eviction has been an acute risk for many tenants in Pomona, who are largely Latino and work in occupations most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and WHEREAS, the financial impacts of displacement include, but are not limited to, packing, moving, temporary housing, application for new housing, and storage costs, as well as lost wages and time due to taking time off work; and WHEREAS, landlords often require that prospective tenants pay the equivalent of three months’ rent up front to secure a lease—generally representing the first and last month’s rent, and a security deposit, the total of which can exceed $10,000 and can frequently reach $20,000 or greater; and WHEREAS, renter households are more likely to be low-income than the households of families who own their homes; and WHEREAS, a household is generally rent-burdened if it spends more than 30% of its gross income on housing costs, and according to the 2019 American Community Survey, many renter households in the City of Pomona are either moderately or severely rent burdened; and WHEREAS, renters in Pomona were protected from eviction for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 through various executive orders and State legislation that recently experied; and WHEREAS, within the confines of existing state law, including the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, the City of Pomona is presently taking steps to restrict rental increases and grounds for eviction in response to the above concerns; and WHEREAS, these protections are designed to exceed those offered by state law wherever permissible and also to apply to mobilehome owners, as the City is home to mobilehome home parks, most of which are owned or inhabited by low-income or fixed-income seniors and families; and WHEREAS, the concerns identified above related to housing instability warrant the further study of additional framework and infrastructure to optimize the implementation of related measures, including without limitation the creation of a Rent Board or similar body.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Pomona as follows:
SECTION 1. City staff is hereby directed to conduct further study of the additional regulatory framework and infrastructure necessary to implement residential rent stabilization, just cause eviction, and other protections for Pomona residents facing housing instability.
SECTION 2. These measures are to include the creation and operation of a rent review entity or similar body or individual, a rent registry, and a process to recover the related costs thereof.
SECTION 3. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the Clerk of the Council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting this Resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of July, 2022.
CITY OF POMONA:
______________________________
Tim Sandoval
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST:
________________________________ ______________________________ Sonia Carvalho Rosalia A. Butler, MMC
City Attorney City Clerk
I, HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Pomona at a regular meeting thereof held on July 18, 2022 by the following vote of the Council:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
Rosalia A. Butler, MMC
City Clerk
65318.00100\40312235.1
65318.00100\40312235.1