TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Chapter 21.60, Divisions I through III, relating to relocation assistance, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
At the March 17,2009, City Council meeting, the City Council requested that the City Attorney's Office meet with representatives of the Apartment Association, Southern California Cities and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles in order to resolve the final remaining issue related to the adoption of the proposed Ordinance.
Due to scheduling issues, the matter was continued to April 14, 2009.
The remaining issue concerning the adoption of the Ordinance relates to Section 21.60.330 that details those situations when relocation benefits would not apply. For instance, benefits would not apply if a tenant moved from the premises voluntarily, or when the landlord can demonstrate that the unit has been vacant for at least six months prior to the application for conversion or demolition.
The original draft ordinance (presented to the Council on March 17,2009) contained a provision that made benefits inapplicable when the tenant household "moved voluntarily (which shall not include the situation where the landlord/owner has served the tenant with a notice to quit or vacate}." The Apartment Association took exception to the above parenthetical phrase arguing that its members would be precluded from evicting tenants for legitimate reasons such as the non-payment of rent, or the tenant causing a nuisance at the premises.
Legal Aid, on the other hand, felt that keeping the phrase offered an important protection to the tenants.
In an effort to resolve the impasse between the parties, the City Attorney's Office suggested language that was perceived to be a compromise that would hopefully satisfy the concerns of both the Apartment Association and Legal Aid.
The suggested language revision eliminated the parenthetical phrase altogether and substituted a new ...
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