The Committee to Protect Oakland Renters (sponsor of, and collector of signatures for an effective rent control Initiative) is organizing a stepped up campaign to show councilmembers that broad components of Oakland civil society are concerned about the rental and displacement crisis that is pushing so many long time Oakland households out of the city.
We ask that you send a letter to Council Members Lynette McElhaney, Abel Guillen, Anne Campbell Washington, Dan Kalb, Mayor Libby Schaaf, in addition to your councilmember.
Email Addresses: lmcelhaney@oaklandnet.com, dkalb@oaklandnet.com, aguillen@oaklandnet.com, acampbell-washington@oaklandnet.com, officeofthemayor@oaklandnet.com,
Select Emails: ngallo@oaklandnet.com, dbrooks@oaklandnet.com, lreid@oaklandnet.com, rkaplan@oaklandnet.com,
In addition to sending the letter below in the name of your organization (or in your name as a member of your organization), please urge your members and colleagues to attend two very important events this week and next:
- Thursday, 7/14 “Major Media Event,” 12 Noon – 1:30pm, City Hall Plaza — Labor, Clergy, Councilmembers, Tenants, Landlord speakers !
- Tuesday, 7/19 , “Pre Council Rally”, 4pm to 5pm, City Hall Rally — Pizza, drinks, chants !!
Urgently requested
Oakland Tenants Union and the Protect Oakland Renters Coalition
_________________________________________________
Oakland City Council
1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612
To Oakland City Councilmember ___________:
(YOUR ORGANIZATION’S NAME) urges the City Council to approve placing Council Member Rebecca Kaplan’s “Renters Protection Act of 2016” on the November ballot. This is the only legislation that will establish strong and lasting tenant protections and will safeguard the diverse communities that make our city unique.
The current crisis of displacement in Oakland has deeply affected many families and communities, including many of our own members. Working families of Oakland whose incomes cannot keep pace with rising rents are most at risk, and now that the moratorium on high rent increases and unjust evictions has expired, the Council desperately needs to act as the massive displacement that caused thr demand for the Moratorium will surely resume, with the unfortunate result that more families will be forced from their homes and from the City.
The Committee to Protect Oakland Renters (CPOR) supports Councilmember Kaplan’s legislation. It is based on best practices established and functioning efficiently in other cities in California that have rent control ordinances. The policies that inform CM Kaplan’s “Renters Protection Act” have been drawn from what works well in these cities.
The “Renters Protection Act of 2016” will require landlords to petition for, and justify rent increases above the automatic pass-through that keeps owners at pace with the rate of inflation. Landlord petitions will take the burden of having to petition off tenants when their landlord raises rents illegally. This change will dramatically reduce the workload of the Rent Board. Last year, 726 tenants petitioned the Rent Board, while in Berkeley, which has a landlord petition system, only 28 landlords petitioned for an extra increase.
Presently, tenants who live in buildings constructed after 1980 have no protection against being arbitrarily evicted. For simple justice, the exemption date for the current Just Cause for Eviction law must be expanded past the present date of 1983. The current date of 1983 exempts far too many landlords and puts many good tenants at unnecessary risk. This, too, is a much-needed reform.
One of the reasons we are in this situation is the ineffectiveness of the Rent Board & Rent Adjustment Program (RAP). The City Council recently passed Councilmember Kaplan’s proposal to add alternate members to the Rent Board, which will enable the Board to hear more appeals and eliminate the backlog of unheard cases. The proposal also expands the powers and responsibilities of the Rent Board & Rent Program to be more efficient in carrying out its various responsibilities. Anyone who has had relations with the Rent Board and Rent Program staff knows it is severely under-sourced to serve a City in crisis.
(YOUR ORGANIZATION’S NAME) urges you to approve the Kaplan proposal for the November ballot, and to let the voters of Oakland decide whether the need is ungent to put lasting tenant protections in place at this November election. Only by establishing the needed changes by ballot, can residents can be assured that the protections will remain in place for years to come.
Thousands of activists and advocates have been fighting for these common sense solutions to our displacement crisis for years. They know that failing to act now will force more people out of Oakland and destroy the fabric of our communities.
Sincerely
___signer’s name______ ,
YOUR ORGANIZATION’S NAME
Agenda Item
Subject: Ordinance Amending Chapter 8.22, Article I (Rent Adjustment)
From: Councilmembers Kalb, Gibson McElhaney and Guillen Recommendation: Adopt An Ordinance Amending Chapter 8.22, Article I (Rent Ajustment) Of The Oakland Municipal Code To:
- (1) Modify Exemptions For Owner-Occupied Duplexes And Triplexes And Sustantially Rehabilitated Properties;
- (2) Require That Owners File Petitions For Rent Increases In Excess Of The Annual Consumer Price Index Increase
- (3) Change The Amortization Period For Capital Improvements To That Of The Useful Life Of The Improvement;
- (4) Clarify That Certain Types Of Work Are Not Capital Improvements;
- (5) Amend Timelines For Filing Petitions;
- (6) Require Owners To Pay Interest On Security Deposits; And
- (7) Amending Chapter 8.22, Article Iv To Permit Tenants To Choose To Pay Their Portion Of The Program Fee Either In A Lump Sum Or In Six Monthly Installments
Agenda Item
Subject: Renter Protection Act of 2016 (Rent and Eviction Ordinance Amendments Ballot Measure)
From: Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan
Recommendation: Adopt A Adopt A Resolution On The City Council’s Own Motion Submitting To The Voters At The November 8, 2016 Statewide General Election Proposed Amendments To The Rent Adjustment Ordinance (O.M.C. Chapter 8, Article I (8.22.100, Et Seq.)
- (1) To Require Owners Petition For Rent Increases In Excess Of An Annual Allowance; And Proposed Amendments To The Just Cause For Eviction Ordinance (Measure EE (2002), (O.M.C. Chapter 8, Article Ii (8.22.300, Et Seq.) To
- (2) Modify The New Construction Exemption To Apply To Units Constructed After January 1, 2002,
- (3) To Require Relocation Payments For Owner-Occupancy Evictions,
- (4) To Permit The City Council Limited Authority To Modify The Ordinances, And
- (5) Amending O.M.C. Chapter 8.22 (Rent And Evictions) To Increase Transparency, Including Regular Reports From The Rent Program To The City Council And
- (6) Removing The Requirement For Council Approval Of Regulations, And Directing The City Clerk…
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Food, documentary screenings, music, art and sculpture unveiling.
