O2452City Council Meeting: January 14, 2014 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2452 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ADDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 4.36.085
AND AMENDING SECTION 4.36.090 PROHIBITING AGREEMENTS THAT LIMIT
TENANTS FROM ENGAGING IN PUBLIC PROCESS
and
WHEREAS, participatory democracy is a hallmark of the City Of Santa Monica;
WHEREAS, the City accordingly has a firm and long- standing commitment to
protecting the rights of all community members to participate in their government; and
WHEREAS, the City has an equally strong commitment to protecting the rights of
tenants; and
WHEREAS, the combination of Santa Monica's prime location, state - mandated
vacancy decontrol, rising rents, low interest rates, and increasing real estate values
have created huge incentives for landlords to displace long -time tenants and redevelop
properties; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, landlords have attempted to condition relocation
payments and other contractual benefits to tenants' agreement to give up their right to
petition their government for relief or to comment publicly on proposed projects; and
WHEREAS, such conditions are contrary to public policy because they abrogate
tenants' First Amendment rights and undermine the democratic process in Santa
Monica; and
WHEREAS, in order to effectuate the City's core values of participatory
democracy and tenant protection and thereby promote the public welfare, the City
Council hereby finds that the Municipal Code should be amended to prohibit landlords
from requiring such conditions.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.36.085 is hereby added to
read as follows:
4.36.085 Prohibition against agreements limiting public
participation.
No landlord shall, with respect to property used as rental
housing, any rental housing agreement or other tenancy or estate at will,
however created, do any of the following:
a) Enter into an agreement with a tenant which prohibits
or limits the tenant from participating in the City's public process, including
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speaking at a meeting of the City Council or any City Commission,
submitting written comments to the City, or otherwise communicating with
City elected officials, appointed officials, and employees on any subject.
b) Attempt to enforce an agreement such as described
in subsection (a).
c) Withhold deposit of relocation fees into escrow or
withhold payment of such fees or other payments otherwise owed to the
tenant in an attempt to induce a tenant to enter into an agreement such as
described in subsection (a).
SECTION 2. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.36.090 is hereby amended
as follows:
4.36.090 Remedies.
(a) In any action by a landlord to recover possession of a
rental housing unit for one of the reasons set forth in Section 4.36.020, the
landlord shall allege and prove compliance with this Chapter.
(b) Any landlord who fails to provide relocation assistance
as required by Sections 4.36.040, 4.36.050, 4.36.070 and 4.36.100 or who
violates Section 4.36.085 of this Chapter shall be liable in a civil action to
the tenant to whom such assistance is due for damages in the amount of
the relocation fee the landlord has failed to pay, a civil penalty in the
amount of five hundred dollars and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs
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as determined by the court. The court may also award punitive damages
in a proper case as defined by Civil Code Section 3294. Any person,
including the City, may enforce the provisions of this Chapter by means of
a civil action.
(c) Any person violating any of the provisions of or failing to
comply with the requirements of this Chapter shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not
greater than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the County Jail
for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(d) No landlord shall attempt to secure from a tenant any
waiver of any provision of this Chapter. Any agreement, whether written or
oral, whereby any provision of this Chapter is waived, shall be deemed
against public policy and shall be void.
(e) Any contractual term which violates Section 4.36.085
of this Chapter, whether written or oral, shall be deemed against public
policy and shall be void.
(f) Nonexclusive Remedies and Penalties. The remedies
provided in this Chapter are not exclusive, and nothing in this Chapter
shall preclude any person from seeking any other remedies, penalties or
procedures provided by law.
cI
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:
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Approved and adopted this 14th day of January, 2014.
am O'Connor, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica
i, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 2452 (CCS) had its introduction on December 10,
2013, and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on
January 14, 2014 , by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Davis, Holbrook, McKeown, Vazquez, Winterer
Mayor Pro Tern O'Day, Mayor O'Connor
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: None
A summary of Ordinance No. 2452 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
ATTEST:
Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk