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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1979.05.08350 CALL TO ORDER BURLINGA}{E, CALIFORNIA May 8, 1979 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The pledqe of allegiance to the flag was leil by City Attorney Jerome F. Coleman. ROLL : COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: AMSTRUP, BARTON, CROSBY, MANGINI , MARTIN COT,NCILMEMBERS ABSENT: NONE Mayor Amstrup announced this special meeting was being held pur- suant to the announcement at the April 24th meeting that Council woutd meet to study and discuss rent stabilization following that public discussion. He stated that he had requested information from the Einance Director regarding cost of ailministration of the ordinance proposed by the proponents of rent control. Finance Director aiqyies, afler study, submitted a memorandum of "ba1lpark" projected costs based on the experience of Beverly Hills, the Lomirunity with rent control which most closely resembl-es Burlingame in populition and ratio of rental units. He estimated a probable co"l of $34,335 for the first year which included a fuII-time ad- ministrative aide and half-time steno-clerk (including fringe benefits) , part-time interns for telephone inquiries for initial- 2-month period, and office expense. He estimated the cost for a special or consolidated election arising out of an initiative pltitio., at $8,000 to $10,000. Based on 5,159 units in structures which woufd be subject to control , he estimated a charge of ap- proximately $7.25 per rental unit. The estimate by the City Clerk of the cost of a special election is $9,000+, anl the cosl of an initiative placed on the November qeneral election ba11ot is $5,000. Mayor Amstrup reviewed three possible procedures: put the proposed ordinance on the ballot; (2) pass ordinance or put a changed ordinance on the balIot, nothing. He stated that after studying the submitted ordinance carefully, he felt there are sectj-ons which would not be beneficial to renters, landlords or the city of BurJ-ingame. An example is that there is no provision for che6ks and balinces in the ordinance in that the boaiil established has no responsibility to anyone, and is composed of appointed, not elected, members. It is enabled to charge fees, ana fris the power to make determination on all matters not spec- ifically covered by the ordinance. councilman Mangini was concerned about the lack of specific def- initions of terms such as "limited income," gouging" and "senior citizen. " He also does not believe alf taxpayers should bear the cost of atlministration for the benefit of only one segment of the residents. He said he felt this type of legistation should be dir- ected by baflot. Councilwoman Barton questioned the power conferred by the proposed ordinance for the appointed board to request funds as necessary without limitation; ihe also questioned the timitation of the type of expenditures to be considered in determining rent increases. Councilman Crosby disagreed with portions of the proposed ordinance inJ suggesteal th;t it 6e worked over, or council should prepare its own toii of ordinance which would be more protective of the rights (1) pass or a changedor (3) do A special meeting of the Burtingame City Council was held on May 8, 19'79, in the City Ha1I Council Chambers. The meeting was cafled to order at 8:05 p.m. by Mayor Irving S. Amstrup. 351 of the renter as well as the landlord. Because difference, he belj-eved the matter should go to e lection . of the cost the general Councilman Martin stated that, though he did not believe rent control a soLution, inasmuch as a large group of people are having problems with rent, he agrees the matter should be voted upon, hopefully at the general election. tte pointed out that if an ordinance is passed by initiative action the law can be changed only by vote of the efectorate. He recommended that Council direct the City Attorney to draft an ordinance to be submitted to the voters which would be more fair to both renters and landlords than the ordinance prepared for the Coalition of Renters based upon the Beverly Hill-s ordinance. It was suggested that it be very general so that rules and regulations might be easily altered if they proved unworkabfe. A rollback of rents to a date such as July 1, 1978 could be considerecl. Certain units should be excluded, such as single family, duplex and 3 and 4 unit buildings with one unit owner occupied, and other exclusions of the proposed ordinance with the addition of all nel., construction com-pletefy excluded as well as high-priced and luxury units. The board should be a minimum of five members with more than one public member, members to be appointed for staggered terms and to serve at the pleasure of the majority of Council, as do members of other boards and commissions. Since the intent of such legislation is to control unreasonable rent increases, not to deprive the owner of rental property reasonable use of property and reasonable return on investment, rules and regulations set up by the board should be adopted after public hearing, but subject to the approvaf of the City Council who should retain the right to change the rules. They should provide for an annual cost of living increase based upon a standard. index to permit recovery of increased operatinq costs, and be designed to allow pass through of other costs, such as capital improvements. The administration of the board should be under the direction of the City Manager with the Director of Finance as the operating head. A11 costs of administration, including overhead and pro- portionate share of the sal-aries of the Finance Director and building and fj-re inspectors, should be paid for by the rental units subject to control . so that the general taxpayers do not pay the cost of a program for the benefit of a select group of citizens. A11 personnel invofved in administration should be eliminated from civil servj-ce and from normal employee fringe benefits. An effort could be made to contract for services of a private orgahization, such as Peat, Marwick & Mitche11, who have expertise for operation of this type of service. The initial fee should be about $7.50per unit payable in advance for the year July 1, 1979, to June 30, J-980, and should be adjusted annually by the rent control board, subject to approval by the City Council. A11 expenditures of funds by the board should be subject to the control of Council. The ordinance shoultl have a section on evictions, probably simifar to that in the Beverly Hj-11s ordinance, to prevent retaliatory action by landlords. It should also provide for expiration, per- haps on July 1, 1981, with provision that it can be extended by the City Council. It was suggested that such an ordinance be alrafted by staff, circulated to the people concerned, and then Council hold a public hearing. After necessary revisions are made such an ordinance might be placed upon the ba11ot. The City Attorney was asked to research if it would be possible to get an advisory response from the electorate to a question such as, "Do you want a rent controf ortlinance?" If the answer were yes, then Council would be bound to enact the Iaw. Councilmembers discussed the advantage of a city prepared ordinance on the batlot to an initiative measure; the preferability of an ordinance or an advisory Question bej-ng placed before the voters; the advisablility of a roll-back to rents at a time related to the enactment of Proposition 13; the amount and period to be covered by the proposed annual feei methods of insuring that the cost of admin.istration is paid by those who would benefit directly from such legislation; methods of determining annual permitted rental increases and assurance that increased. capital costs were passed throuqh; and means of enforeement of an ord.inance. The meeting reconvened at 9;25 following a short recess, At Mayor Amstrup's request City Attorney Coleman and City Clerk Eve1yn HilI advised the meeting of the time frame, necessary action and cost involved in an j-nitiative process, ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m Respectfully submitted HI LL Clerk //ill/C *"' t' EVEIYN /, /. 4v/ City 352 Councilman Mangini, after referring again to the courses of action open to Council, questioned whether enactment of an ordinance would negate the need for the matter to be placed on the ballot at the general election. ft was the opinion of themajority of Council that the issue of rent control for the City should be directed by the electorate, Councilwoman Barton dis- senting because she did not wish to equivocate her position in opposition to such legislation. After further discussion the City Attorney was instructed to draft a form of ordinance, embodying the provisions discussed earlier in the meeting, for consideration by Council at its June 7th study meeting. After necessary revisj-on, the proposed ordinance will be presented for comment and discussion by renters, owners of rentaf property and thepublic generally, with the intent that the ordinance or an advisory question will be included on the general election bal lot .