CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
March 20, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Kirk Pelser, Deputy City Manager
Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney
SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF URGENCY ORDINANCE AMENDING URGENCY ORDIANCE NO. 4320 RELATED TO RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AND FINDING THE ORDINANCE IS EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following urgency ordinance:
URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 4329 – AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA AMENDING URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 4320 RELATED TO RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AND FINDING THE ORDIANCE IS EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Mayor and City Council have previously heard public comment from those expressing support for bringing forward, for Council consideration, an amendment to the existing Urgency Ordinance 4320, which was adopted by the Council on August 1, 2022 and which created a regulatory framework and other protections for residents facing housing instability. Based on direction to staff during the February 27, 2023 Council meeting, the attached Urgency Ordinance No. 4329 (Attachment No. 1) would amend Ordinance No. 4320 (Attachment No. 2) by expanding the Relocation Assistance available to tenants in not-at-fault evictions proceedings.
FISCAL IMPACT: Establishing rent restrictions, relocation assistance and just cause eviction regulations with enforcement mechanisms such as a rent review board or individual independent reviewer could cost several million dollars considering the necessary staff and legal support. As with other programs of this nature, the City may recover some or all of these costs through rent registration fees which are currently being studied and will be brought before Council for consideration later this year as part of a potential permanent rent stabilization ordinance and program.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On August 1, 2022, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 4320, which established certain rent stabilization and tenant protection measures. During the February 27, 2023 City Council Meeting, staff was directed to bring back an amendment to the Ordinance No. 4320, for Council consideration, to expand Relocation Assistance for tenant not-at fault evictions.
DISCUSSION:
When adopted in 2022, Urgency Ordinance No. 4320 included Relocation Assistance provisions if a termination of a tenancy is based on the No Fault grounds set for in the Urgency Ordinance, in which case the Landlord shall pay a relocation fee in the amount of two (2) times the Tenant’s current rent in effect, plus one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
Details of Proposed Urgency Ordinance No. 4329
The full text of the Proposed Urgency Ordinance 4329 can be found in Attachment No. 1. In summary, it amends the Relocation related sections of 4320 for No Fault Terminations to:
(1) The landlord shall pay a relocation fee of: $19,400 to any Qualified Tenant and a $9,200 fee to all other tenants who have lived in their rental unit for fewer than three years; $22,950 to any Qualified Tenant and a $12,050 fee to all other tenants who have lived in their rental unit for three years or longer; or $22,950 to any Qualified Tenant and $12,050 to all other tenants whose household income is 80% or below Area Median Income (AMI), as adjusted for household size, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, regardless of length of tenancy. If more than one fee applies to a rental unit, the landlord shall pay the highest of the applicable fees. (2) Relocation fees owed for termination of tenancy based on No Fault termination under this section shall not relieve any obligations under the Uniform Relocation Act or California Relocation Assistance Act, including any obligation to pay an amount higher than what is required under this Ordinance. (3) Tenants who claim eligibility for relocation assistance based on their income shall file a statement with the Department verifying their income on a form prescribed by the Department. Requests for a hearing to appeal a decision regarding a tenant's relocation assistance eligibility, including disputes about eligibility for higher relocation assistance based on a tenant's income, age, length of tenancy, family status and/or disability status, must be filed in writing on the form prescribed by the Department and received by the Department within fifteen calendar days of the date of the Department's notification of its decision regarding tenant relocation assistance. (4) The entire relocation fee shall be paid to a Tenant who is the only Tenant in a Rental Unit, or if a Rental Unit is occupied by two (2) or more Tenants, then each Tenant of the Rental Unit shall be paid a pro-rata share of the relocation fee. (5) Landlord may deduct from the relocation fee payable any and all past due rent owed by Tenant during the twelve (12) months prior to termination of tenancy and may deduct from the relocation fee any amounts paid by the Landlord for any extraordinary wear and tear or damage cause by the Tenant, cleaning, or other purposes served by a security deposit as defined by the rental agreement, to the extent the security deposit is insufficient to provide the amounts due for such costs. (6) After taking into account any adjustments in the amount of the relocation assistance provided herein, the Landlord shall pay one-half (1/2) of the relocation assistance no later than five (5) business days following service of the notice to a Tenant of the termination and onehalf (1/2) of the relocation assistance no later than five (5) business days after the Tenant has vacated the rental unit.
In addition, Urgency Ordinance 4329 adds three definitions for “Department”, “Eligible Tenant” and “Qualified Tenant” and changes references from “Rent Control” to “Rent Stabilization”.
As an urgency ordinance the proposed Ordinance requires five affirmative votes of the City Council pursuant to Section 510 of the City Charter. An ordinance declared by the Council to be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, containing a declaration of the facts constituting the urgency, and passed by a five-sevenths (5/7) vote of those present.
Prepared by:
___________________________
Kirk Pelser
Deputy City Manager
_____________________________
Sonia R. Carvalho
City Attorney
ATTACHMENT:
No. 1 – Urgency Ordinance No. 4329
No. 2 – Urgency Ordinance No. 4320 (adopted 8/1/2022)