Second City Att'y Memo Cites Specific Alleged Defects In Proposed LB Rent Control/Just-Cause Eviction Ballot Measure (Now Collecting Signatures)
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(April 30, 2018) -- Within days of LBREPORT.com reporting (first again) that a memo sent to the Mayor and City Council from City Management and the City Attorney's office contends a LB rent control ballot petition initiative would, if passed, "likely trigger an immediate legal challenge," City Management and the City Attorney's office sent a second memo, dated April 25, to the Mayor/Council, -- labeled an addendum -- to "clarify and provide more information" regarding two statements" made in the first memo.
The second City Management/City Attorney memo notes that in addition to possible placement on the November 2018 and April 2020 ballots, the City Council has the discretion (if proponents collect sufficient petition signatures) to call a special election on the proposed measure (on some other date.)
The second memo then cites with specificity "six instances where the proposed ordinance likely violates the City Charter." To view the legal details and the full text of April 25 memo click here.
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Long Beach Residents for Fair Housing (a political action committee raising and spending money in a campaign to oppose the measure) released a statement through its spokesman, Mike Murchison:
"Special interest groups like Housing Long Beach want to pass this dangerous, reckless ballot initiative at any cost. Taxpayers will be on the hook for massive legal bills if rent control becomes law, and those bills will be paid out of the city’s general fund. That’s money that could be used for police, fire trucks, street and pothole repairs, even more affordable housing. This politically driven effort only benefits the special interests at the expense of renters, housing providers, taxpayers, and city-funded services."
As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, Josh Butler, leading the drive for the petition-initiative rent control/just cause eviction measure, responded to the first City Management/City Attorney memo by commenting: "City Hall is waging war on Long Beach renters. This is a heavy handed and biased report, but, we expected nothing less from them." He added that "Requesting such a report [as the Council did in March, bringing the first memo] is one [of] the options the City Council has befor them once the signatures are certified by the City Clerk. In effect, the Council has initiated this process early and we encourage them to seek all the answers necessary so that we all may move forward with this process."
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The development comes as proponents of a statewide petition-initiative drive recently announced that they've collected more than sufficient signatures to put a measure on the statewide November 2018 ballot to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Act. Costa-Hawkins currently limits the ability of cities (by Council action or local petition initiatives) to enact sweeping local rent control ordinances. The hot button issue has already come up in the 2018 Governor's race, could become a factor in other state and local races and is expected to generate large sums for dueling campaigns for and against the statewide measure.
It's currently unclear if Mayor Garcia or other incumbents (Mungo and Uranga face June runoffs) do or don't support the statewide ballot measure to repeal Costa-Hawkins or enacting certain just-cause eviction or other provisions included in the LB petition-initiated measure (that LB voters could enact whether or not voters statewide repeal Costa-Hawkins.)
