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O1127 , , \. .. 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Monica Municlpal Code, establish~ng a 11~it on the number of rent ralses permlsslble withln one (1) year, are hereby repealed.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. -. .. .. 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 -2- ~ ~ 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- -3- ~ ~ 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 -4- ~ '" I' 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 -5- ll~;-:'~ .- It 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. -6- .. ( ~ _-"7...... -~~~ ~- -- _....~~i"- 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. 4 tbv- C n;vJ ?,Z'uJ..Jta."--- l1ayor -7- ~ at ~-.......--;:o-_-_..... , 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: ... ~~~ , clERK ~ -- ~/}'L,Jd!J~tz ~:d-~ B;Z C%LeL) ':I \ \. \ _______ ___ _ ~ -_ -.L.I~