O1127
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CA' lU..K~ :dd
Coun~tlng 06-29-79
Santa Mon~ca, cal~a
ORDINANCE NO. 1127(CC5)
(City Counel1 Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF TBE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMEND-
ING CHAPTER 6 OF ARTICLE IV OF THE
SANTA MONICA HUNICIPAL CODE TO ENACT
THE RENT CONTROL LAW, TO CODIFY,
CLARIFY fu~D IMPLErmNT ARTICLE XVIII
OF THE CITY CHARTER.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ORDAINS
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Sections 4601, 4602, 4603, and 4604 of
the Santa Monica Municlpal Code, establish~ng a 11~it on the
number of rent ralses permlsslble withln one (1) year, are
hereby repealed.
SECTION 2. Chapter 6 of Article IV of the Santa MODlca
Municlpal Code, relating to Residential Rental Property, is
hereby amended to read as follows:
SECTION 4601. SCOPE. PURPOSE.
ThlS Chapter codifles, clarifles and implements Artlcle
XVIII of the City Charter, enacted by the voters of the City of
Santa Monica as propositlon "A" at the General Hunicipal Election
of Aprll 10, 1979. It is the lntent of the Chapter to uphold
the letter and spJ.rit of Proposition "A", to enforce It falrly
and efficlently, and to integrate lt into the whole of the
City, J.ts government, law, and plans.
SECTION 4602. CODIFICATION. NAME.
ThlS Chapter may be knmm as the \'Rent Control La,~n.
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The whole of Article XVIII of the C~ty Charter, and each part thereof,
1S made part of this Code, Chapter, and Section, by this reference.
Art~cle XVIII of the C~ty Charter may be cited as Sectlon 4602.1800
et. seg. of the Santa Mon1ca Mun~cipal Code.
SECTION 4603. DEFINITIONS.
a) Rental un~ts in nobl1e homes or spaces ~n trailer parks
rented pr1mar1ly to transient guests for a period of less than fourteen
(14) days are exempt from controls under Section 1801(C).
b) An "owner occup~ed dwelling" exempt from controls under
1801(C4) means a dwelling containing no more than three (3) units on One
legal parcel, including units conta1ned in separate build1ngs ~n the
same parcel, at least one of wh~ch ~s used as the prlncipal res1dence of
an ~ndividual owner, ~ncluding a jo~nt tenant.
c) A dwelling unlt that was vacant on April 10, 1979 1S
nonetheless a "rental unit" withln the meanlng of Sect10n l801(C) and (il),
if ~t 1S habitable or may be made hab1table 10 an econom1ca11y feas1ble
manner, without structural change._
d) A controlled rental un1t 18 removed from the rental
housing market Wlth1n the mean1ng of Sect10n 1803(T). if it is moved
from its foundatlon.
SECTION 4604. VESTED gIGHTS. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The date of April 10, 1979, shall be used as a reference point
for calculatlng vested r1ghts cla1ms arislng under this Chapter.
SECTION 4605. VES~ED RIGHTS. BASIC TEST.
In order to have secured a vested right to do or not to do a
certaln thlng notwithstandlng the provlsions of this Chapter, unless pro-
v~ded otherwise in Sect10n 4607. a person must have secured the last
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governmental approval necessary tc L~e perfor~ance of the desired
thing, and, ~n good fa~th reliance on that approval, must have
performed substantial work Qr incurred substantial liabillties in
furtherance thereof. No right shall vest under this Chapter unless
all cond~tlon3 precedent to obtaLnin~ all necessary governmental
approvals have been satisfied as deternined by the Interim Rent
Control Board and Permanent Rent Control Board.
SECTION 4606. VESTED RIGHTS. CONVERSIONS.
A property O\Vller or subdivlder is presumed to have a vested
rlght to convert a controlled rental unit if, prior to April 10, 1979,
the tentative tract ~ap was approved and he or she SUbmlts satisfactory
evidence of good faith rellance; including;
a) That applicat~on for a 9ublic report has been
filed with the State Department of Real Estate;
b} That necessary bUllding permits and approvals by the
Architectural Revlew Board have been obtained.
A vested right to proceed under th~s Chapter shall exp~re
withln three (3) years of final map approval as to all unlts not then
sold; such unsold units are thereafter subject in all respects to thlS
Cl1apter.
SECTION 4607. VESTED RIGHTS. CAUSE FOR EVICTION.
If a person acquires a determlnation from the Interlm Rent
Control Board or Per~anent Rent Control Board that he or she has a
vested right to convert or remove a rental unit from the market by
conversion, he or she shall be deemed to have acquired a removal
permit for the purpose of establlshlng cause for eVlctlon under
Section 1806 (I). The other causes for eviction set forth In
Bectlon 1806 shall contlnue to apply together with the other pro-
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v~sions of this C~apter.
SECTION 4608. CITY PERMITS CONDITIONED ON REMOVAL PERMIT.
On and after Aprl1 18, 1979, no department, commission, board,
or ag~acy of the Clty shall accept for processlng or issue any new
permlts or appllcations to demollsh or otherwise remove a controlled
rental unit or to convert a controlled rental unlt to residential use
unless such Clty permit or application 15 conditioned on securing a
permlt under Sectlon 1803 (T) from the Rent Control Board.
SECTION 4609. VESTED RIGHTS MECHANISM.
The Interlm Rent Control Board and, upon lts formatlon,
the Permanent Rent Conrol Board shall determine vested claims arising
under this Chapter, subject to such rules of procedure as will insure
fair and efficient process of law.
SECTION 4610. BOARD PART OF GOVERNMENT.
The Interlm Rent Control Board and the Permanent Rent Control
Board shall be an integral part of the government of thlS City, and
shall be subject to the provls1ons of the Clty Charter, thlS Code, and
other laws regulatlng municlpal affalrs. The City Manager and City
Staff shall adminlster and supervise the flnancial, personnel, and
purchaslng affairs of the Boards. In the event of a dispute between
the City Staff and the Boards over a matter arising under th~s
Section, the City Counc~l shall make the final dec~sion.
SECTION 4611. RIGHTS OF BOARD EI~LOYEES.
Employees of the Interlm Rent Control Board shall be
consldered to be part-tlme, as-needed employees of the City. Permanent
employees of the Rent Control Board shall be considered within the
classif1ed serv~ce of the Clty, having the r~ghts and responsibil~ties
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of other Clty employees.
SECTION 4612. BUDGET.
The Board shall prepare a budget and subm~t ~t to the City
Manager at the same time and in the same form as do other departments
of the CltYi the Manager shall transmit such a budget to the Clty
Council. The Council shall approve the budget as transIDltted, except
that lt may disapprove an item requlring the expendlture of City funds,
and any other item that lnvolves a manlfestly unreasonable use of
publlC resources or manlfestly unreasonable risk of loss to the City.
SECTION 4613. INTEGRITY k~D AUTONOMY OF ELECTED BOARD.
Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as authorlty
to abrldge the power of the Board to have the f~na1 appointlng
authority over its employees, lncluding hearing examiners. Nor shall
the Council unreasonably wlthhold funds or approvals necessary to
lnsure that the pol1cles and purposes of thlS Chapter are carried
out fairly and efficiently, and that the law be upheld and adequately
enforced.
SECTION 4614. CITY ATTORNEY LEGAL OFFICER TO BOARD.
The Clty Attorney shall be the legal representatlve of the
Board, and shall defend lts officers and employees In actions brought
by and agalnst them In thelr offlClal capacitles. The City Attorney
shall render opinlons to the Board and approve documents as to form
and legality as in the case of any other City Board, Commission, or
department. The City Attorney shall have the authority and responsibl1ity
to enforce this Chapter by prosecutlon ln the name of the people of the
State of California or of the Clty, as appropriate, and may seek, In
the name of the City, to abate as a public nUlsance any act in vio-
latlon of Lts prov15ions or that threatens damage to its purposes,
by any means agreeable to the usages and principles of law. Any
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action brought against the Board shall be conSldered to be a sUlt
against the Clty, and shall be defended by the City Attorney as such.
SECTION 4615. INSPECTORS. ISSUANCE OF CITATIONS.
Public offlcers or employees of the City, a~polnted by the
Board and designated by the Building Officer as having the power
to inspect and lnvestigate for vlolations of this Chapter shall have,
in furtherance thereof, the powers and immunltles from liabl1ity
conferred on publlC employees under Section 836.5 of the California
Penal Code; provlded, however, that the term "arrest" shall mean
the power to detaln a suspected violator of this Chapter for a
time sufficient to process a citatlon and release pursuant to
Section 853.5 and 853.6 of the Penal Code, and shall not be construed
as authorlty to take any such suspected vlolator into custody.
SECTION 4616. SAVINGS CLAUSE.
rf any part of this Chapter is declared to be invalid by
final judgment of a court of competent jurisdlction, the Clty Councl1
shall, within a reasonable tlme, take such action necessary to promote
the purposes of thlS Chapter, and to uphold lts survlvlng terms.
Sectlon 3. If any sectlon, subsection, sentence, clause
or phrase of thlS ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid
or unconstitutlonal by a decision of any court of competent jurlsdictlon,
such decisions shall not affect the valldity of the remalnlng portlons
of the ordlnance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed thlS ordinance and each and every section, subsectlon,
sentence, clause or phrase not declared lnvalid or unconstltutional
without regard to whether any portlon of the ordinance would be
subsequently declared invalld or unconstitutional.
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Section 4. The C1ty Counc11 flnds and declares that an
emergency exists in that, if Article XVIII of the City Charter 1S
not clarif1ed and implemented promptly, many disputes wlll be
aggravated and the1r resolutlon delayed, and the relation of the
Interlm Rent Control Board to the City ~vill be unclear, creating
unnecessary confl1ct, expense and delay. Therefore, the City Councll
adopts this Ordinance as an emergency measure.
The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to
the passage of this ordinance. The Clty Clerk shall cause the same
to be published once 1n the offlcial newspaper withln f1fteen (15)
days after its adopt1on. This ordinance shall become effective
1mmediately upon adoption, pursuant to Sect10n 619(C) of the C1ty
Charter of the C1ty of Santa Monica.
ADOPTED and APPROVED this
29th day of
June
, 1979.
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l1ayor
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ADOPTED AND APPROVED THIS
29th
DAY
OF
June
J 1979.
d/iu /: i/4w~tJJ2:4ii}~
i1AYOR
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING ORDINANCEJ
No. 1127 J WAS DULY AND REGULARLY INTRODUCED AT A MEETING OF
THE CITY COUNCIL ON THE 8th DAY OF May
J 1979; THAT
THE SAID ORDINANCE WAS THEREAFTER DULY ADOPTED AT A MEETING
0;: THE CITY (OUNe r L ON THE 2 9th DAY OF .Tnnp
BY THE FOLLOWiNG COUNCIL VOTE:
~ 1979
AYES:
COUNCILMEMBERS: BambrIck, .Jennings, Reed, Yannatta,
van den Steenhoven
NOES:
(OUNCILMEMBERS: Scott, Swink
ABSENT:
COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ATTEST:
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, clERK ~ --
~/}'L,Jd!J~tz
~:d-~ B;Z C%LeL)
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