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Recommendation to Accept the Certificate of Sufficiency for Referendum Petition Against Ordinance No. 3180; and
Select One of the Following Options: 1) Introduction of Ordinance Repealing Ordinance No. 3180 in Its Entirety; or 2) Adoption of Resolution Calling an Election in the City of Alameda for the Purpose of Submitting to the Electors Ordinance No. 3180 Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Amending Various Sections of Article XV of Chapter VI Concerning (a) Review of Rent Increases Applicable to All Rental Units and Rent Stabilization Applicable to Certain Rental Units and (b) Limitations on Evictions and the Payment of Relocation Fees Applicable to all Rental Units (Eliminating “No Cause” Ground for Eviction and Requiring Landlords to Pay Relocation Fees at the Expiration of Certain Fixed Term Leases). (City Clerk 2220)
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To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Lara Weisiger, City Clerk
Re: Recommendation to Accept the Certificate of Sufficiency for Referendum Petition Against Ordinance No. 3180; and
Select One of the Following Options: 1) Introduction of Ordinance Repealing Ordinance No. 3180 in Its Entirety; or 2) Adoption of Resolution Calling an Election in the City of Alameda for the Purpose of Submitting to the Electors Ordinance No. 3180 Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Amending Various Sections of Article XV of Chapter VI Concerning (a) Review of Rent Increases Applicable to All Rental Units and Rent Stabilization Applicable to Certain Rental Units and (b) Limitations on Evictions and the Payment of Relocation Fees Applicable to all Rental Units (Eliminating “No Cause” Ground for Eviction and Requiring Landlords to Pay Relocation Fees at the Expiration of Certain Fixed Term Leases)
BACKGROUND
On June 6, 2017, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 3180 that amended various sections of Article XV of Chapter VI of the Alameda Municipal Code concerning the Council’s previous adoption of Ordinance No. 3148, which provides for a review of rent increases for all residential rental units, provides for rent stabilization for certain residential rental units, limits the grounds for evictions for residential rental units and provides for the payment of relocation fees to displaced tenants under certain circumstances. A referendum petition against Ordinance No. 3180 was filed in the City Clerk’s office on June 26, 2017. By the submission of a timely referendum petition, Ordinance No. 3180 was suspended.
On June 26, 2017, the City Clerk submitted the Petition to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters Office (ROV) for a prima facie review, signature verification, and final count. The ROV found the Petition to be sufficient on July 17, 2017. The certificate of sufficiency is attached as Exhibit 1.
DISCUSSION
Elections Code Section 9115 requires the City Clerk to certify the results at the next regular City Council meeting. Once the Council undertakes this ministerial act, the Council has to decide whether to repeal the Ordinance or submit it to the voters.
Repeal Ordinance No. 3180 or Submit It to the Voters
If the Council decides tonight to repeal Ordinance No. 3180 (by introducing an ordinance tonight and adopting it two weeks later), the same or similar ordinance cannot be enacted for a period of one year after repeal. If the Council so chooses, the ordinance repealing Ordinance No. 3180 it its entirety would become effective 30 days after adoption.
However, pursuant to Elections Code Sections 9241, if the City Council does not repeal Ordinance No. 3180, it shall submit the ordinance to the voters at the next regular municipal election or at a special election. If the ordinance is submitted to the voters, it will remain suspended, and not in effect, unless and until the voters approve it.
Submit Ordinance No. 3180 to the Voters
If the Council decides to adopt a resolution calling for an election to submit Ordinance No. 3180 to the voters, Council needs to decide the election date, approve the ballot question and determine its interest in authoring a ballot argument. Similar to repeal of the ordinance, if a majority of voters do not vote in favor of Ordinance No. 3180, the same or substantially the same ordinance cannot be enacted for a period of one year after disapproval by the voters.
Election Date
The election may not take place sooner than 88 days from the date of the Council resolution calling the election. The Council has discretion to place the measure on the next regular municipal election or on a special election. Pursuant to Elections Code Section 1000, the next established election dates are in 2018. The City Council can choose to place the measure either on a special election to be held on April 10, 2018 or June 5, 2018, or the next municipal election to be held on November 6, 2018. While April 10 is an established election date under the Elections Code, there is currently no matter to consolidate the measure with, which could significantly increase the cost of holding an election on that date.
Ballot Question
State elections law requires that the ballot pamphlet include a ballot question of no more than 75 words. The City Council is to approve the wording of the ballot question. The proposed question is:
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Shall Ordinance No. 3180, which amended the rent review and eviction provisions of the Alameda Municipal Code, including the elimination of “no cause” as a ground for eviction and the requirement that a landlord pay relocation fees to a tenant at the expiration of a fixed term lease when the lease has been extended beyond its initial term, be adopted? |
Ballot Arguments
State elections law allows the City Council to determine its interest in authoring an argument regarding the measure for printing in the sample ballot. The resolution calls for direct arguments for or against the measure to be submitted to the City Clerk’s office by 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, be limited to 300 words, and can have no more than five signers. Arguments must be accompanied by the printed name(s) and signature(s) of the author(s) submitting it, or if submitted on behalf of an organization, the name of the organization, and the printed name and signature of at least one of its principal officers who is the author of the argument. (A Declaration of Author(s) form is available from the City Clerk’s office.)
The resolution provides that rebuttal arguments against the measure can be filed. Rebuttals are to be submitted by 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, 2017, (assuming Council adopts September 19 for the arguments for and against) are limited to 250 words and can have no more than five signers, which can differ from the signers of the direct argument.
The City Council has options regarding the preparation of a ballot argument and potential rebuttal. The City Council may: 1) draft the argument/rebuttal as a whole body in open session; 2) authorize up to two Councilmembers to draft the argument/rebuttal and have the entire Council sign; 3) authorize up to two Councilmembers to draft the argument/rebuttal and have a combination of Councilmembers and other eligible voters sign; or 4) authorize up to two Councilmembers to draft the argument/rebuttal and have up to five eligible voters sign.
Lastly, the resolution directs the City Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis not exceeding 500 words in length to be printed in the ballot.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The costs associated with placing the ordinance on the ballot were not included in the General Fund Budget for Fiscal Years 2017-18 or 2018-19. Placing the measure on the ballot for the next general municipal election on November 6, 2018 would cost approximately $25,000 for translation, typesetting, and printing the measure. The costs for placing the measure on the April 10, 2018 or June 5, 2018 election could range from $580,000 to $720,000 if there are no other matters on the ballot, but may fall below that range if the measure can be consolidated with another item on the ballot.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
Alameda City Charter Article 19 governs Municipal Elections.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is not a project and is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to section 15378(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, as it concerns submittal of a referendum petition to the voters of the City of Alameda.
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the Certificate of Sufficiency; and either introduce an ordinance repealing Ordinance No. 3180 or adopt a resolution submitting the measure to the voters.
Respectfully submitted,
Lara Weisiger, City Clerk
Financial Impact Section Reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibit(s):
1. Certificate of Sufficiency