pages: CityCouncil/2016-06-21.pdf, 15
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CityCouncil | 2016-06-21 | 15 | Vice Mayor Matarrese stated Council needs the information in order to determine whether the fee is a real number. The Community Development Director responded the contracted amount with the Housing Authority is a real amount. Stated the fee is unfair and the only people who benefit are the renters; landlords are the ones doing the significant paperwork; renters have no idea about building maintenance; urged Council to reconsider: Melinda Samuelson, Alameda. Stated that she is a renter and cannot afford to buy in Alameda; there is a housing crisis in Alameda; she does not know if her family can afford to stay in Alameda for her children can attend school; urged Council not to pass the fee onto tenants; requests a just cause ordinance and no fault evictions, a rent cap, and creation of a rent board with more jurisdiction and services; urged Council to remember the renters and tenants in the City: Kari Rosenbaum, Alameda. Stated the rent stabilization ordinance is not protection for the renters; renters do not feel safe and secure and fear retaliation; the program is failing at the price of $2 million per year; there is a $20 a month annual business fee per unit; less than 2,000 of the 17,400 units paid the fee; the fee should go up $50 if the landlords are late; questioned how the City will bill and collect on landlords when the landlords cannot even pay the $20 fee; stated rent control and eviction protections are needed; every week Alameda is losing more residents and adding insult to injury by asking tenants to pay an additional $5.46 per month; even if only 10% of landlords are bad, that is 1,500 families and Alamedans: Catherine Pauling, Alameda Renters Coalition (ARC). Urged Council to revise comparable cities costs; inquired if there is a way to base the regulatory fee on rent or square footage, which would be more fair: Eric Strimling, ARC. Suggested the Housing Authority come up with a new plan and some real answers; questioned whether the $40 per rental unit landlords pay goes into the General Fund; stated there needs to be a quarterly review of what the Rent Review Advisory Committee is actually doing and make adjustments accordingly; urged coming up with an alternative to small claims court if the landlords cannot collect the fee: Lester Cabral, Alameda. Stated the landlords in Alameda will have to pay for new jobs created from the program; the fee should be paid by the ones who benefit; the people who are benefiting are the renters; urged Council to reconsider approval of the program: Wayne Leong, Alameda. Stated that she did not mind the 5% increase cap; she does not have time to do the current paperwork, and the program will add more paperwork; urged the City to look into other cities and the costs: Nancy Gordon, Alameda. Regular Meeting Alameda City Council June 21, 2016 | CityCouncil/2016-06-21.pdf |