Title
Update on the Process Regarding Impact of Rising Rents in Alameda. (Community Development 7010)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: John A. Russo, City Manager
Re: Update on the Process Regarding Impact of Rising Rents in Alameda
BACKGROUND
In September 2014, the City Council agreed to a community process, to be led by Mr. Jeff Cambra, to better understand if residential rents in Alameda were increasing significantly and, if that were the case, to suggest strategies to ameliorate adverse effects on tenants. Over the following four months, Mr. Cambra held a series of community meetings out of which stakeholder groups were identified. The stakeholder groups, comprised primarily of housing providers and tenants, prepared five broadly worded concepts, with the suggestion that these concepts could be developed more specifically and be included either in the City's Municipal Code or in the City's Rent Review Advisory Committee (RRAC) program and process. Mr. Cambra presented those proposed concepts to the City Council on January 20, 2015.
Following a presentation by Mr. Cambra and after receiving comments from community members, the City Council directed staff to prepare the necessary amendments to the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) and, to the extent applicable, to integrate the concepts into the RRAC program and procedures. In addition, staff was directed to prepare a recommendation for City Council consideration regarding additional analytical work that should be done to better understand the impacts of rising rents on long-term residents, seniors, very low- and low-income renters, and the extent of the problem of increasing rents over time. The City Council requested that the work be completed in 90 days.
This staff report provides an update on staff's progress.
DISCUSSION
Staff from the City Attorney's Office and the Community Development Department met with Mr. Cambra to transition the work fr...
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