HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/28/1988, 2 - CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST BY COUNCILMAN SETTLE TO CONSIDER PLACING THE TWO RENT STABILIZATION MEASURES ON BALLOT.�aill�l�lll City of San GIs OBISp0
COUNCIL AGED
FROM: Steve Henderson, Assistant to the CAO
REPORT
MEETING
SUBJECT: Consideration of request by Councilman Settle to consider placing the
two rent stabilization measures on ballot.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
Review the six major alternatives, take public testimony, and direct
staff to return with further analysis and /or appropriate resolution.
BACKGROUND:
Situation
There have been two significant developments during the past several
weeks concerning our Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Regulations
(SLOMC Chapter 5.44). First, the Final Report of the Ad Hoc Committee
on Rent Stabilization was submitted January 7, 1988. This report
consists of a number of proposed substantive amendments to the
present City ordinance. Secondly, certain residents, including Mrs.
Leola Rubottom, are spearheading an effort to place a rent
stabilization ordinance on the ballot (possibly November, 1988). If
successful, this initiative ordinance would replace the existing City
regulations.
Councilman Settle has requested that the Council consider placing
these two items on the ballot for the citizens to choose.
This report presents arrange of major options available to the
Council. It identifies six alternatives which may be placed into
three distinct categories. They are: 1) maintaining the existing
regulations, 2) a complete and thorough review of the existing
regulations, and 3) resolution of the differing approaches by the
ballot process. The Council may choose any of the alternatives or a
workable combination of them.
MAJOR ALTERNATIVES
1. Maintaining the Existing Ordinance. Since the Council modified
the rent stabilization regulations replacing the Mobile Home Rent
Review Board with itself as the hearing body in June of 1987, no
application has been submitted by residents or park owners. The
Council postponed taking any further action on the re- examining and
changing the City's current mobilehome rent regulation ordinance at
that time deferring to the process of giving the park owners and
residents an opportunity to work together and resolve their
differences. The Council could choose to maintain the existing
ordinance for the present and consider taking another course at a
later time.
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= COUNCIL. AGENDA REPORT
2. Reinstate Review of Existing Ordinance. In June of 1987, the
Council postponed taking any further action on the re- examining and
changing the City's current mobilehome rent regulation ordinance at
that time deferring to the process of giving the park owners and
residents an opportunity to work together and resolve their
differences.
The Council may choose to resume deliberations and review of the
existing rent stabilization regulations and modify as desired. This
task might be done in conjunction with reviewing and possibly
incorporating portions of the Owners- Residents Committee report and
the proposed initiative. This option may take a considerable amount
of staff and Council time to pursue and complete. Although much of
the research has been previously reported, approximately nine
recommendations require final action. In addition, two
Councilmembers are new to the Council and have not previously acted
on these issues.
3. Ad Hoc Committee Final Report. A representative group of park
owners and residents has been meeting for more than six months and
have recently submitted a revised ordinance for the Council's
consideration. The Ad Hoc Committee's Final Report is an outgrowth
of the June 1987 Council meeting. At that meeting, the Council
further postponed discussions of the previously submitted Rent Review
Board recommendations for six months. During this time, park owners
and residents were to negotiate mutually acceptable revisions to the
Rent Stabilization Ordinance. Their recommendations address most, if
not all, of the substantive issues left undecided by Council in June
1987.
The Council may choose to explore the recommendations of the Ad Hoc
Committee and accept, reject, or modify the suggested amendments.
This alternative will require some commitment of time by the staff
and the Council.
4. Initiative Petition Proposal. A group of mobilehome residents,
headed by Mrs. Rubottom, is again pursuing the initiative process as
a remedy to the on -going rent stabilization regulations dilemma. The
staff and Council have received her proposed ordinance. It differs
quite significantly from the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee
or those of the Mobilehome Rent Review Board and the existing rent
stabilization regulations. A major effect of passage of the proposed
initiative measure would be that any future changes to the ordinance
could only be made at another election; the Council could not change
the ordinance.
The Council may choose to review Mrs. Rubottom's ordinance and either
accept, reject or modify the proposed ordinance.
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COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
5. Ballot Measures (Advisory). Under the Charter and state law,
Council is able to place issues and questions before the electorate.
Such measures can be either quite general or very specific. They can
be either advisory or binding.
Advisory measures are intended to assess or gauge the desires or
direction of the voters ( "take the pulse ") on policy matters. If the
issue is framed in a general manner, great flexibility is retained by
Council to subsequently adopt rules and regulations which implement
and give effect to the desired direction or policy. The more
specific the question, the less potential flexibility. In the
present situation, a general policy statement regarding mobilehome
rent control may not be appropriate given the facts and circumstances
of the past 7 -8 years. The general City policy of protecting
mobilehome residents from sudden and unreasonable rent increases is
long established and has been vigorously defended in court. The real
issue is how best to implement this policy.
Council has two separate and distinct packages of proposed amendments
before it. One comes from a group which was organized as a result of
Council direction. The other comes from a group of local residents.
Although there appears to be some overlap in content, the packages
represent substantially divergent approaches for future mobilehome
rent control in the City. Accordingly, it would be appropriate to
place both sets of amendments before the electorate as advisory
measures. Whichever one received greater voter support could then be
enacted by Council with minor revisions as necessary to make it in
full compliance with State law.
6. Ballot Measures (Binding). Binding ballot measures are proposed
ordinances enacted directly by the people. They convey a policy
direction as does an advisory measure but go a major step further in
that no additional legislative action is required by Council.
A binding measure leaves no discretion to Council. Future changes,
no matter how small, can only be made by voter approval. As a
general rule, direct enactment of detailed and complicated
regulations is not recommended because of this difficulty. From the
perspective of the initiative backers, it does act to ensure that
future Councils do not frustrate the will of the people by
legislative action. Given the existence of other well - established
checks and balances (recall, referendum) binding measures are
somewhat in disfavor from a representative democracy /Council
prerogative viewpoint.
DISCUSSION
Given the relative merits of the above alternatives, and the long and
sometimes troubled history of mobilehome rent control in San Luis
a -3
COUNG' .:
AGENDA RE RT
Obispo, the City Council might consider the placement of two separate
and specific advisory measures of the ballot. Timing, of course, is
Important. The City Clerk advises that final Council action would
have to be taken Tuesday, February 2,'1988.
ATTACHMENT: Matrix.
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