TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Quinn Barrow, City Attorney
Alexandria Latragna, Policy and Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Adopting Urgency Ordinance No. 23-0005-U Amending Ordinance No. 20-0012-U, as Subsequently Amended, to Rescind Commercial Eviction Regulations (City Attorney Barrow).
ADOPT URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 23-0005-U
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Urgency Ordinance No. 23-0005-U amending Urgency Ordinance No. 20-0012-U, as subsequently amended, to rescind regulations pertaining to commercial tenants.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
On March 13, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 20-0039, proclaiming the existence of a local emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak. On March 17, 2020, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 20-0012-U to provide temporary eviction protections to commercial and residential tenants in the City during the COVID-19 pandemic local emergency. The Council subsequently adopted Urgency Ordinance Nos. 20-0016-U and 20-0018-U to amend Urgency Ordinance No. 20-0012-U pertaining to commercial tenants. The Ordinances are referred to hereinafter and in the draft ordinance as the “2020 Eviction Ordinance.”
The 2020 Eviction Ordinance prohibited a landlord from evicting residential and commercial tenants in either of the following situations:
1. for nonpayment of rent if the tenant demonstrated that the tenant is unable to pay rent due to financial impacts related to COVID-19; or
2. for a no-fault eviction unless immediately necessary for the health and safety because of the existence of a hazardous condition affecting other tenants, neighbors, or the landlord, unrelated to COVID-19.
Significantly, the 2020 Eviction Ordinance did not relieve tenants of the obligation to pay any rent; it simply deferred payment of all unpaid rent until six months after the expiration of the local emergency.
On January 18, 2022, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 22-0001 amending Urgency Ordinance No. 20-0012-U, as subsequently amended, to rescind residential eviction regulations. On December 20, 2022, the City Council voted to end the City’s local emergency on February 28, 2023, and directed staff to return with an urgency ordinance ending the commercial tenant eviction moratorium.
DISCUSSION:
If adopted, Urgency Ordinance No. 23-0005-U would rescind protections provided to commercial tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the option to defer payment of rent because of financial impacts related to COVID-19. The attached ordinance specifies that landlords of commercial tenants may not endeavor to evict a commercial tenant for nonpayment of rent that became due between March 17, 2020, and February 7, 2023, so long as the tenant complied with all provisions of the 2020 Eviction Ordinance. This draft ordinance does not alleviate commercial tenants from payment of their unpaid rent from that time period, and requires the tenant to pay such rent on or before September 1, 2023. Commercial tenants, under this draft ordinance, would be required to pay their regular rent in a timely manner after February 7, 2023, and repay all rent that was deferred after March 17, 2020, on or before September 1, 2023.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Urgency Ordinance No. 23-0005-U
2. Urgency Ordinance Nos. 20-0012-U, 20-0016-U, and 20-0018-U
3. Ordinance No. 22-0001