O2438City Council Meeting: August 27, 2013 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2438 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING CHAPTERS 4.40 AND 4.60 OF THE SANTA MONICA
MUNICIPAL CODE TO EXPAND DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP PROTECTIONS TO
CONFORM WITH STATE LAW
WHEREAS, Santa Monica local law provides certain protections for, and
imposes certain requirements on, residential tenants who are domestic partners; and
WHEREAS, California state law requires that domestic partners have fully equal
rights to those of spouses; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica law contains restrictions on domestic partners' rights
not present in the state law and vice versa; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to amend local law to conform to the
equality standard of state law.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 4.40.040 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Section 4.40.040 Housing And Other Real Estate Transactions.
(a) Unlawful real estate practices.
(1) Transactions Generally. It shall be an unlawful real estate
practice for any person to interrupt, terminate, or fail or refuse to
initiate or conduct any transaction in real property, including but not
limited to rental transactions, on the basis, in whole or in part, of an
individual's sexual orientation or domestic partnership (as defined
in Municipal Code Section 4.60.020(d)). Unlawful practices based
on an individual's sexual orientation or domestic partnership would
include, but not be limited to: (1) requiring different terms for the
real property transaction, (2) including in the terms or conditions of
a transaction in real property any special or unique clause,
condition or restriction, or (3) falsely representing that an interest in
real property is not available for transaction.
(2) Credit and Insurance. It shall be an unlawful real estate
practice for any person to refuse to lend money, guarantee a loan,
accept a deed of trust or mortgage, or otherwise refuse to make
available funds for the purchase, acquisition, construction,
alteration, rehabilitation, repair or maintenance of real property, to
impose different conditions on such financing, to refuse to provide
title or other insurance relating to the ownership or use of any
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interest in real property on the basis, in whole or in part, of any
individual's sexual orientation.
(3) Tenant Services. It shall be an unlawful real estate practice for
any person to refuse or restrict facilities, services, repairs or
improvements for any tenant or lessee on the basis, in whole or in
part, of any individual's sexual orientation
(4) Eviction Proceedings. It shall be an unlawful real estate
practice to threaten to commence or commence eviction
proceedings against any tenant on the grounds that he or she has
breached a rental agreement if the alleged breach arises from an
increase in the number of occupants due to the domestic
partnership (as defined in Municipal Code Section 4.60.020(d)) of
the tenant, provided that the occupancy by the tenant's domestic
partner and children of the domestic partner is otherwise lawful. A
violation of this subsection may be asserted as an affirmative
defense in an unlawful detainer action.
(5) Advertising. It shall be an unlawful real estate practice for any
person to make, print, publish, advertise or disseminate in anyway,
any notice, statement, or advertisement with respect to a
transaction or proposed transaction in real property, or with respect
to financing related to any such transaction, which indicates or
attempts to indicate any unlawful preference, limitation or
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discrimination on the basis, in whole or in part, of any individual's
sexual orientation
(b) Subterfuge. If the sexual orientation of an individual was a
motivating factor in the decision to undertake or perform one of the
actions specified in subsection (a) of this Section, it shall not be a
defense that: (1) other legitimate and lawful factors also motivated
the decision unless these factors would have independently
provided justification for the decision or (2) other factors were
asserted as the basis for the decision if these factors were simply a
pretext for the decision.
(c) Exceptions.
(1) Owner Occupied and Small Dwellings. Nothing in this Chapter
shall be construed to apply to the rental or leasing of any housing
unit in which the owner or lessor or any member of his or her family
occupies one of the living units and either: (a) it is necessary for the
owner or lessor to use either a bathroom or kitchen facility in
common with the prospective tenant; or (b) the structure contains
less than three (3) dwelling units.
(2) Effect on Other Laws. Nothing in this Chapter shall be deemed
to permit any rental or occupancy of any dwelling unit or
commercial space otherwise prohibited by law or to establish a
landlord- tenant relationship between a landlord and a domestic
partner that does not otherwise exist by law or contract.
(d) Domestic Partnership Eviction Protections. In order to assert
the eviction protections established by this Chapter as an
affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer proceeding, a domestic
partner must have filed an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership with
the City Clerk in accordance with Municipal Code Chapter 4.60.
SECTION 2. Section 4.60.010 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Section 4.60.010 Statement of Policy: Equality With Spouses.
(a) Statement of Policy. Although domestic partners live in an
intimate and committed family relationship, they are often denied
public and private sector benefits because no mechanism has been
established for registering their relationship. Consequently,
domestic partners are often subject to marital status discrimination
in employment, housing, public accommodations, and hospital and
jail visitation privileges. The purpose of this Chapter is to create a
mechanism for recognizing the intimate, committed relationships of
domestic partners and thereby provide a means of eliminating the
discrimination that domestic partners face; and to recognize
domestic partners' equality with spouses.
(b) Equality with spouses. Domestic partners shall have the the
same rights, protections, and benefits as are granted to spouses.
SECTION 3. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MARS� ��jjA J ES M01ITRIE
City Atforfey
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Approved and adopted this 27th day of August, 2013.
am O'Connor, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa - Monica
I, Denise Anderson - Warren, Acting City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2438 (CCS) had its introduction
on August 14, 2013; and was- adopted -at the Santa Monica City Council - meeting
held on August 27, 2013, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Davis, Holbrook, McKeown, Winterer
Mayor Pro Tern O'Day, Mayor O'Connor
Noes: Councilmembers: Vazquez
Absent: Councilmembers: None
A summary of Ordinance No. 2438 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
ATTEST:
Denise Andersor- Warren, Acting City Clerk