HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-08-27 Ordinance 5447DocuSign Envelope ID: 22795321-7E2A-4C3E-929D-01793593F4E2
ORDINANCE NO. 5447
Emergency Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending
Chapter 9.68 (Rental Housing Stabilization) of Title 9 (Public Peace,
Morals, and Safety) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Require
Relocation Assistance for No-Fault Eviction for Multifamily Housing
Developments Containing 50 or More Rental Units
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as
follows:
(a) There is a significant and prolonged shortage of, but increasing demand for, rental
housing in the City of Palo Alto. These conditions have created a housing crisis that
is particularly acute for those residents of Palo Alto seeking rental housing.
(b) Numerous recent studies conclude that the housing crises at the state and local
levels have reached emergency levels. An April 2018 report by the California
Housing Partnership states that Santa Clara County is facing a "housing
emergency," resulting in a 13% rise in homelessness and demand for almost
60,000 more affordable rental units throughout the county. A May 2018 report by
Next 10 ranks California 3rd worst among states in share of household income
spent on rental costs and worst in the nation for rental housing over-crowdedness.
(c) The cost of housing in Palo Alto is among the highest in the world. As of July 2018,
the median home sales price is reported at over $3 million and the median rent is
reported as high as $5,900 per month.
(d) According to rental market tracking sites Zumper, Trulia, and Rentometer, as of
August 2018, the average rent in Palo Alto is approximately $2,300 per month for a
studio, $2,900 for a one-bedroom, $4,300 for a two-bedroom, $5,600 for a three-
bedroom, and $7,000 for a four-bedroom unit.
(e) Tenants evicted in Palo Alto are forced to incur substantial costs related to new
housing including, but not limited to, move-in costs, moving costs, new utility
hook-ups, payments for temporary housing, and lost work time seeking housing.
(f) Move-in costs commonly include first and last month's rent plus a security deposit
equal to one month's rent, leading to total relocation expenses in excess of three
months' rent.
(g) Tenants who do not have adequate funds to move and who are forced to move
pursuant to no-fault eviction notice face displacement and great hardship.
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(h) The impacts of these no-fault evictions are particularly significant on low-income,
elderly, and disabled tenants, and tenants with minor children, justifying an
additional payment for households with these tenants.
(i) Certain no-fault evictions that reduce the number of rental units available,
whether on a temporary or permanent basis, exacerbate the housing crisis in Palo
Alto, particularly for structures containing 50 of more rental units.
(j) For the reasons set forth above, the relocation assistance provided in this
ordinance is justified and necessary as an emergency measure for evicted tenants
to find new housing and avoid displacement and to otherwise preserve the public
peace, health, and safety.
SECTION 2. Section 9.68.035 (Relocation Assistance for Certain
Displacements) of the Chapter 9.68 (Rental Housing Stabilization) of Title 9 (Public Peace,
Morals, and Safety) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby added to read as follows:
9.68.035 Relocation Assistance for No Fault Eviction
(a) This section shall be applicable only to structures or lots containing 50 or
more rental units.
(b) For the purposes of this section, a "no-fault eviction" means an action by a
landlord to recover possession of a rental unit for any reason other than the
following:
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1. The tenant has failed to pay rent to which the landlord is legally
entitled.
2. The tenant has violated a lawful obligation or covenant of the tenancy.
3. The tenant has refused the landlord reasonable access to the unit for
the purposes of making repairs or improvements, for any reasonable
purpose as permitted by law, or for the purpose of showing the rental
unit to any prospective purchaser or tenant.
4. The tenant is permitting a nuisance to exist in, or is causing damage to,
the rental unit.
5. The tenant is using, or permitting a rental unit to be used for any illegal
purpose.
6. The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental
unit in order to comply with regulations relating to the qualifications of
tenancy established by a governmental entity, where the tenant is no
longer qualified.
No fault evictions shall include, without limitation, actions in which the
landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental unit:
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7. To demolish or otherwise permanently withdraw the rental unit from
offer for rent or lease pursuant to California Government Code
sections 7060-7060. 7.
8. To perform work on the building or buildings housing the rental unit
that will render the rentable unit uninhabitable;
9. For use and occupancy by the landlord or the landlord's spouse,
grandparents, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-
law, daughter-in-law, children, or parents provided the landlord is a
natural person.
10. For no specified cause.
(c) For the purposes of this section, an "eligible household" means a displaced
residential household whose annual household income does not exceed
100% of the area median household income for Santa Clara County, as
adjusted for household size according the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development, as may be adjusted from time to time,
and whose rental payments to the landlord remain current through the date
of displacement.
(d) Whenever a landlord seeks a no-fault eviction of an eligible household, as
defined in this section, other than temporary displacement of 31 days or
fewer, the landlord shall provide a relocation assistance payment as follows:
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1. Unit Type Amount
0 bedrooms $7,000
1 bedroom $9,000
2 bedrooms $13,000
3 or more bedrooms $17,000
If the eligible household occupying a rental unit is comprised of two or
more tenants, the landlord shall provide each tenant with a
proportional share of the required payment. One half of the payment
shall be paid at the time that the landlord provides notice of its intent
to seek no-fault eviction or as soon as the landlord is aware that the
rental unit is occupied by an eligible household; the remainder of the
payment shall be paid when the tenant vacates the unit.
2. Notwithstanding subsection (d)(l), each rental unit that, at the time
the landlord provides notice of its intent to seek no-fault eviction, is
occupied by a low-income household as defined in Chapter 16.65, a
tenant who is 60 years of age or older, a tenant who is disabled within
the meaning of Government Code section 12955.3, or a tenant who is
a minor, shall be entitled to a single additional relocation payment of
$3,000. This amount shall be divided equally among the qualifying (i.e.
low-income, elderly, disabled, or minor) tenants. In order to receive
this additional payment a qualifying tenant must provide written
notice to the landlord of his or her eligibility along with supporting
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evidence within 15 days of receiving the landlord's notice. The entirety
of this additional payment shall be paid within 15 days of the tenant's
written notice to the landlord.
(e) Prior to or at the same time that the landlord provides notice of its intent to
seek no-fault eviction, the landlord shall serve on the tenant a written notice
describing the rights described in this section. The failure to provide this
notice shall not operate as a substantive defense to an eviction pursuant to
California Government Code sections 7060-7060.7.
(f) Commencing July 1, 2019, the relocation payments specified in this section
shall increase annually at the rate of increase in the "rent of primary
residence" expenditure category of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All
Urban Consumers in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Region for the
preceding calendar year. Current rates shall be published on the City's
website.
(g) A landlord may request a waiver or adjustment of the relocation assistance
payment required by this section only upon a showing that strict application
of its requirements would effectuate an unconstitutional taking of property
or otherwise have an unconstitutional application to the property. Requests
for waiver or adjustment must be submitted in writing to the Director of
Planning and Community Environment together with supporting
documentation at least 90 days before the proposed termination of tenancy.
Requests shall be acted on by the City Council.
(h) The Director of Planning and Community Environment may issue regulations
implementing this section.
SECTION 3. If any provision, clause, sentence or paragraph of this Ordinance,
or the application to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not
affect the other provisions of this Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby declared
to be severable. In addition, this Ordinance is enacted to exercise the specific authority
provided for in Chapter 12.75 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the California Government Code and
reserved to local governments in Chapter 2. 7 of Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the California
Civil Code. In the case of any amendment to these chapters or any other provision of State law
which amendment is inconsistent with this Ordinance, this Ordinance shall be deemed to be
amended to be consistent with State law.
SECTION 4. The City Council finds and determines that this Ordinance is not a
project within the meaning of section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act
("CEQA") because it has no potential for resulting in physical change in the environment, either
directly or ultimately. In the event that this Ordinance is found to be a project under CEQA, it is
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