sr-042479-11aSanta Monica, California, April 18, 1979
T0: Mayor and City Council
FROM: C i ty Staff APR 2 4 f979
SUBJECT: Appropriation of Funds for Administration of Rent Control
Introduction
This staff report transmits a proposed budget for implementation of the Rent
Control Charter Amendment until July 1, 1979. The total cost is estimated at
$&0,000. The report further describes the tasks which will need to be under-
taken during the above period.
fltioi vc i c
I TASKS
A. Registration
The Charter Amendment requires that all rental units be registered within
sixty (60) days of the April 10th election. It is proposed that
registration forms be mailed no later than May 10, 1979, in order to give
ample time for their return on or before Friday, June 8, 1979. Labels
can be prepared by Data Processing from County Assessor records currently
programmed. It is proposed that all owners (or their representative) of
rental dwelling units be requested to return the forms; and Chase owners
who are exempt, because of the number of units and owner-occupancy, request
exemption at that time. This will enable the City to have a complete
record of all rental dwelling units, and to monitor annually those which
are owner-occupied.
Estimates have been obtained from three (3) sources for printing, folding,
collating and stuffing of envelopes. Postage has been estimated as well.
The total cost is estimated to be within $4,000.
APB $ ~ 1979
Mayor and City Council -2- April 18, 1979
In order to properly inform owners of the impacts of the Charter
Amendment, it is proposed that, in addition to a cover letter and
registration forms, a copy of the Charter Amendment and the question/
answer sheets prepared by the City Attorney be included in the packet.
B. Data Analvsis
At the close of the 60-day registration period, the data from that
source will be analyzed to provide information to assist the Rent
Control Board in formulating adjustments to the Base Rent Ceiling..
C. Information/Mediation
During the period following adoption of the Charter Amendment and the
seating of the Elected Rent Control Board, there will be instances
where illegal rent increases or evictions will be attempted by some.
owners/representatives. For this reason, the mediation workload will
increase. The proposed procedure will be to accept a complaint from
a tenant by telephone or in person. A mediator will then contact the
owner/representative and explain the provisions of the Charter Amend-
ment and request that the increase or eviction notice be rescinded.
If this is not accomplished, the file will be turned over to the
Interim Rent Control Board for further action per Section 1802 of the
Charter Amendment. Experience with the one-time-per-year rent raise
ordinance adopted in February shows that mediation, where a law is
involved, is highly successful.
D. Litigation and Other Legal Work
A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Charter Amendment,
Baker vs. City of Santa Monica, has been filed by landlords in Superior
Mayor and City Council -3- April 18, 1978
Court. A motion for preliminary injunction will be heard some
time in May. This lawsuit raises numerous complex issues: extensive
legal resources must be employed. It may be necessary to take
depositions, use consultants, or incur other extraordinary legal
expenses before July 1.
Additionally, the interpretation of various clauses of the Amendment--
its relationship with other City laws, and its application to potentially
numerous problems--will require legal opinions and drafting of documents.
This work will be partially borne by existing staff and partially by the
new Attorney.
II BUDGET
Staff has estimated that the implementation of the tasks mentioned above
require a staff of six (6) persons consisting of: 1 Attorney (1/2 time);
1 Paralegal; 1 Legal Secretary; 1 Mediator; 1 Data Analyst; and, 1 Secretary/
Clerk. Office Supplies/Expenses and Capital Outlay, together with staff
costs, are estimated to cost $60,000.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council .authorize the transfer of $60,000-from the
estimated pay raise account number 01-700-274-000-101 to the Environmental Services
department for implementation of Rent Control through July 1, lg7g.
Prepared by: John Jalili
Stephen Shane Stark
Sheila Smith
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