HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 414-07City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
ATTN:POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY SER’~qCES
DATE:
SUBJECT:
NOVEMBER 14, 2007 CMR: 414:07
HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION RECOMMENDS TO THE CITY
COUNCIL TO REMOVE THE PALO ALTO MEDIATION PROGRAM
FROM THE HUMAN SERVICES RESOURCE ALLOCATION PROCESS
ALONG WITH ITS CURRENT FUNDING AND BE FUNDED THROUGH
A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF PALO ALTO
RECOMMENDATION
Staff is forwarding the City of Palo Alto’ s Human Relations Commission (HRC) request that the
City Council direct the Policy and Services Committee to review and recommend that Council
approve the removal of the Palo Alto Mediation from the Human Services Resource Allocation
Process along with its cun’ent funding and be funded instead through a contract with the City of
Palo Alto.
BACKGROUND
During its March 20, April 12 and September 15 meetings, the HRC commissioners heard
testimony from the Palo Alto Mediation Pro~am (PAMP) mediators and staff from the Project
Sentinel Program that adlninisters the Palo Alto Mediation ProN-am requesting that they not be
part of the Human Services Resource Allocation Process (HSRAP). PAMP provides mediation
services in a broad range of community disputes, including landlord-tenant and neighbor-to-
neighbor, and has successfully done so for more than twenty-five years. The mediators and staff
stated that they provide an essential service to the City, and that without their program, there
would be a heavier burden on City staff and City departments such as Police and Code
Enforcement to respond to Palo Alto citizens involved in these type of disputes.
PAMP is designated to operate and implement a City ordinance: the Mandatory Response to
Request for Discussion of Disputes between Landlords and Tenants Ordinance approved on
October 15, 2001 by the City Council. The adopted ordinance provides for a mandatory
discussion of disputes between landlords and tenants which provides for a neutral forum for
discussing issues, including but not limited to rent increases. Either a tenant or a landlord may
initiate a meeting with the Pa!o Alto Mediation Program. The Palo Alto Mediation Program
schedules the meeting and both pat-ties are required to appear and listen to a mediator read an
opening statement as to the .purpose of the meeting. Then either patty may leave the meeting. In
CMR:414:07 Page 1 of 2
almost 98 percent of the time the two parties stay for the mediation session. The ordinance also
requires landlords to provide written notification to tenants about their rights and responsibilities
and eliminates the exemption of condominimns from this ordinance. The ordinance applies to
landlords having more than one single-family home renta!. Because of the special expertise of
the mediators and the Project Sentinel staff,, there has been a very high rate of documented
satisfaction with the program from both landlords and tenants. PAMP has effectively taken
responsibility for this ordinance with minimal use of City staff resources. Without PAMP, City
staff would have to enforce this ordinance. In addition to the savings to the City from PAMP’s
role in providing these mediation services, the PAMP volunteers and Project Sentinel staff have
special expertise in resolving these issues; that would not be expected from City staff. In light of
these contributions to essential City functions, Project Sentinel contends that PAMP should be
considered a City contractor and not have to compete for City HSRAP funding.
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION
At the March 20 and April 12th and September 15 HRC meetings the Commissioners discussed
and made a recommendation to the City Council requesting that the City Council direct the
Policy and Services Committee to review and recommend that City Council approve the removal
of the Palo Alto Mediation from the Human Selwices Resource Allocation Process along with its
current funding and be funded instead tl’n’ough a contract with the City of Palo Alto.
RESOURCE IMPACT
The impact to City staff will be implementing a Request for Proposals for mediation services and
drafting a final contract for the agency awarded the mandatory mediation services contract to
administer the Palo Alto Mediation Program. Staff would also modi~ the HSRAP and Human
Services budget by transferring $66,805 from the HSRAP fund into the Human Services budget
for contract services.
ATTACHMENTS
Attaclm~ent A: The Mandatory Response to Request for Discussion of Disputes between
Landlords and Tenants Ordinance
PREPARED BY:
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
H
Division Manager, Cubberley Center & Human
,/~ervices
RICHARD JAMES
Director of Community Services
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
E~Y HARRISON
Assistant City Manager
CMR:414:07 Page 2 of 2
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Title 9 PUBLIC PEACE, MORALS AND SAFETY*
Chapter 9.72 MANDATORY RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION OF DISPUTES BETWEEN LAN
9.72.040 Dispute resolution process.
9.72.040 Dispute resolution process.
(a) Any tenant or landlord may request mandatory discussion of rental housing disputes by
filing a written request for dispute resolution within twenty-one days of learning the facts that give rise
to the dispute. The request must be filed with the city’s facilitation administrator, and must provide
enough factual information to outline the basic issue or issues being raised.
(b) Within seven days of receiving a written request for dispute resolution, the facilitation
administrator will notify both tenant mad landlord that a case has been opened and will provide a copy of
the request to the responding party. The facilitation administrator will also initiate a conciliation process,
to be undertaken by the facilitation administrator, other city- staff., or a mediator, before mediation is
scheduled.
(c) The facilitation administrator will not open dispute resolution, or will order dispute
resolution closed, when it is clear from the written request that there is no substantial factual basis for
the dispute, or when the dispute involves the actions or behavior of persons, or conditions, that are not
within the contro! or responsibility- of the parties; or when the dispute is frivolous, malicious or
vexatious; or when further proceedings are not, in the sole judgment of the facilitation administrator,
likely to be productive. Both parties will be notified of the facilitation administrator’s action and shall
have access to the case summary forms used by the facilitation administrator, which will not contain any
confidential communications from the parties. The facilitation administrator will also order dispute
resolution closed if the parties agree to engage a mediator of their ow-n choice, so 10ng as the party who
requests the mediator agrees in writing to bear all costs related to that service.
(d) The facilitation administrator will promptly assign the request to a mediator who will
contact all relevant parties to conciliate and mediate the dispute. The facilitation administrator shall have
the authority to combine different disputes or different parties in the interest of efficiently addressing the
disputes, provided that any party may, for reasons of confidentiality or otherwise, opt out of a combined
mediation involving more than one tenant or landlord by notifying the facilitation administrator. All
communications between the facilitation administrator and the parties as well as between the mediator or
conciliator and the parties shall be confidential and subject to the confidentiality guarantees set forth in
California Evidence Code Sections 703.5 and 1115 - 1128, as they may be amended or superseded. The
mediator assigned to the case will promptly investigate and if necessary disclose any conflict of interest
or potential conflict of interest to the parties as soon as the conflict or potential conflict becomes known
to the mediator. At the time of disclosure, the parties will have the option of wai’,,ing any such conflict
as long as the waiver is in w-riting. The city shall not be obligated to incur any financia! obligation in
order to assign a mediator. A mediator will not be assigned if there are not qualified volunteers available
without cost to the city or parties.
(e) No mediation will be scheduled until at least fourteen days after the parties are notified in
order to allow time for conciliation efforts before mediation. Unless all parties agree in writing to waive
the time limit, the initial mediation session will be conducted within twenty-eight days of the date the
written request for dispute resolution is filed. The landlord’s business location shall be considered so that
the mediation will be scheduled at a reasonably convenient time taking into account the distance that the
landlord must travel to attend the mediation.
(f) If a mediation session is held, the mediator shall provide the parties with an opening
statement explaining the nature of the process and the ground rules. Thereafter the mediator will
determine the manner and course of the session, including whether to meet with the parties in caucus,
provided that the general guiding principle will always be to provide the parties with a full opportunity
to air the concerns giving rise to the dispute.
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(g) The landlords and/or tenants involved in the dispute shall be obligated to personally appear
at a mediation session scheduled by a mediator. All parties must participate in the mediation session
until completion of the mediator’s opening statement. All parties appearing must have the legal authority
to resolve disputes arising under this chapter. Participation in mediation shall be voluntary in all respects
after the opening statement. The mediator may, with the consent of all parties, schedule additional
sessions as needed.
(h) No party shall be obligated to reach any specific agreement, or to reach an?; agreement at
all, as a result of participating in conciliation or mediation communications. If an agreement is reached,
it will be stated in writing by the mediator or by the parties..Any such agreement shall be confidential
and will not be enforceable or usable for any purpose outside the dispute resolution process, unless all
signatories agree that the document can be disclosed or used in other proceedings.
(Ord. 4728 § 1 (pal-t), 2002)
9.72.050 Property registration.
(a) The landlord of each residential rental property within the city shall register the unit or units
with the city, regardless of whether the residential rental property; is listed in Section 9.72.030. The
registration shall include the name and mailing address of the ov~ner or oysters of the propel-ty, as well
as the name, mailing address and contact telephone number of the person having the legal authority to
effectively resolve disputes arising under this chapter.
(b) For the sole purpose of reimbursing the city of Palo Alto for the reasonable costs of
maintaining property- registration records and related administrative systems, the owner or manager of
each residential rental unit to which this chapter applies shall pay a fee in an amount to be set by the
Palo Alto city council.
(Ord. 4728.§ 1 (part), 2002)
9.72.060 Retaliation prohibited.
No landlord or tenant who has been a party to conciliation and mediation of rental housing disputes
pursuant to this chapter may undertake or cause any type of retaliatory act or omission against another
party as a result of the other parry,- having invoked or participated in the dispute resolution process. The
facilitation administrator upon request shall review an act or omission, including a notice of eviction or
an unlawful detainer action, which occurs within six months of the party’s pal’ticipation in conciliation
and mediation of rental housing disputes, unless the eviction or action is the result of the unjustified
failure or refusal to pay rent. tn the event that the facilitation administrator concludes that there is
sufficient evidence to investigate an act or omission of retaliation under this provision, the relevant facts
will be referred to the city attorney for appropriate remedial action.
(Ord. 4728 .§ 1 (part), 2002)
9.72.070 Notice of tenant’s rights.
(a) Every- rental agreement, lease, or other written document evidencing or changing the terms
of tenancy for a residential rental property, to which this chapter applies shall include or be accompanied
by the following: A notice summarizing the rights afforded by this chapter, including but not limited to
the protection against retaliation; and the name, address and telephone number of the facilitation
administrator. The facilitation administrator shall prepare and publish acceptable notification language,
including the name, address and phone number of the city’s facilitation administrator. The notification
shall be capitalized text at least fouteen points in size and shall state:
THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO MEDIATION OF DISPUTES
BETWEEN LANDLORD AND TENANT. YOU MUST REQUEST MEDIATION WITHIN 21 DAYS OF
LEARNING ABOUT THE FACTS THAT CREATED THE DISPUTE. CONTACT THE CITY OF PALO
ALTO’S FACILITATION ADMINISTRATOR [name, address and phone] FOR FURTHER
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(a) Violations of this chapter shall be punishable as infractions pursuant to Palo Alto Municipal
Code Section 1.08.010.
(Ord. 4.728,§ 1 (part), 2002)