Clearlake City Council repeals eviction moratorium; state moratorium in place until May 31
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – With a state moratorium in place until the end of May to protect against tenants being evicted due to impacts from COVID-19, the Clearlake City Council chose to repeal its own temporary eviction moratorium during a special Monday morning meeting.
On March 19, the council unanimously enacted an urgency ordinance imposing a moratorium on residential evictions until at least May 19, as Lake County News has reported.
That urgency ordinance’s initial 45-day period was set to run out on May 3, according to City Attorney Ryan Jones.
City Manager Alan Flora said that since the city took its action, Gov. Gavin Newsom established a similar, longer moratorium that ends on May 31.
He said the governor’s moratorium stops the eviction process in the court system and prohibits law enforcement from executing writs of eviction, while the city’s ordinance says landlords cannot even start the eviction process.
Jones’ preference was for the council to either extend or repeal its ordinance, rather than letting it run until its Sunday end date if it’s no longer needed.
Flora said Councilman Phil Harris, who was absent from the meeting, had discussed the matter with him and said it was his preference to stop the city’s moratorium.
Jones said that, although he doesn’t think there is an overt risk of litigation at this point, “If the state’s willing to do the same thing that we want to do and take on all of that potential liability, maybe there is a benefit of doing that.”
Council members agreed with Jones’ analysis about letting the state take on the potential liability.
The city received one public comment from a local landlord, Terry Stewart, which City Clerk Melissa Swanson read to the council.
“My concern with the eviction moratorium is the potential financial hardship is only being shifted from the tenant to the landlord. In most cases (in my experience) once tenants get behind, they never get caught up. Meanwhile, all government agencies continue to expect me to pay my bills directly due to them, or the bills that they have mandated me to pay (such as property taxes, and garbage service). The tenant also expects me to keep the property functioning, you know, things like toilets, water heaters, etc.,” Stewart wrote in a comment submitted through the city’s online portal.
He also noted that the eviction process can take a minimum of six to eight weeks to go through the legal process.
Stewart pointed to the shortage of affordable rental properties. “Each time you, as government officials, take actions that damage landlords financially, many of us conclude that we are no longer valuable to the community, and exit the business. Exacerbating the affordability issue. Also, please bear in mind that most landlords are everyday folks who own a small number of units. Many of us are now in a state of financial distress that equals what our tenants are experiencing … or even worse, since some of them are now making more money being laid off than they were when working, due to enhanced unemployment benefits, and government stimulus money.”
With the state having its moratorium in place, “I don’t see the reason for us to continue with this emergency ordinance,” Mayor Russ Cremer said.
Councilman Russ Perdock moved to approve repeal of the urgency ordinance, which Overton seconded and the council approved 4-0, with Harris absent.
In other business conducted at the hour-long Monday morning meeting, the council presented a proclamation declaring April 12 to 18 as Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week, held a public hearing to approve several parcels that had been owned by the city’s former redevelopment agency, approved tax-exempt lease/purchase agreements for a 2021 Kenworth water truck and a 2021 Kenworth 10-yard dump truck, and authorized the purchase of two trailer-mounted, emergency 70KW generators for $126,500, paying for them with funds from the 2019 CalOES grant the city received earlier this year.
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