How to resolve AdBlock issue? CLEARLAKE, Calif. – After being on hold for 14 years, the city of Clearlake’s rental inspection ordinance could soon be enforced once more after a proposed recrafting by staff.
The Clearlake City Council on Thursday evening heard a presentation from staff about reimplenting the ordinance, placed in the city municipal code in 2001 in response to dilapidated rental units in the city but suspended in 2005 due to the city’s budget constraints.
Issues with city rental standards came into sharp focus in the spring, when a Clearlake man and his four dogs were found dead of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in a substandard rental, a case which led to the issuance of notices of violation and citations to the owners of more than 20 properties, as Lake County News has reported.
The discussion begins in the video above at the 34:44 minute mark in the video above and the staff report begins on page 104 of the agenda packet below.
Police Chief Andrew White, whose department oversees the Clearlake Code Enforcement division, said staff wanted to discuss the proposal with the council and the public, and gauge interest.
He didn’t have information on how successful the program had been in the four years it was enforced in Clearlake, but White pointed to cities such as Sacramento and Greensboro, North Carolina, where such measures reduced code enforcement issues and improved rental quality.
White said the goal is to protect the city’s most vulnerable residents; the question, he said, is how to fund it.
He also showed the council pictures of serious code violations in city rentals, including spliced electrical codes and a bathtub that required pliers to use it.
White said he’s seen some egregious rental code enforcement cases and the situation is impacting people who don’t know what recourse they have or what their rights are.
He said the program will encourage landlords to improve the housing stock. “We can prevent cases, hopefully, from becoming red tags and so forth,” he said.
Council members during the discussion voiced their support, but were concerned about how to fund it and how to enforce it so that it doesn’t force people from their homes.
City Manager Alan Flora said staff is recommending the establishment of a fee program that covers the cost of the staff time to administer it.
“The scope and the scale of the problem here in the city is something that shouldn’t be underestimated,” Flora said. “We have a much higher renter population than a lot of communities. It’s almost 50 percent.”
Addressing all of that will be a challenge, said Flora, adding that 43 percent of homes in the city need substantial rehabilitation or already are dilapidated. “It’s a big thing to get our arms around.”
While the shape of the program is yet to be fully determined, White said some of the possibilities include random sampling inspections for multi-unit dwellings in order to lower the cost. There also can be incentive programs, including inspection exemptions for those who are complying, explaining that it wouldn’t be feasible to inspect every rental property in the city every year.
Councilman Russ Perdock said he’s seen a lot of serious issues and health hazards with rentals in the city. “It’s a long time overdue,” he said of the proposal, adding that he hopes it will be another tool to make Clearlake a better managed city.
Councilman Phil Harris asked how the city would identify rental homes. White said it’s a good question, and he didn’t yet have the full answer. He said the current ordinance requires a business license for those who rent homes, which he hadn’t seen before.
“I love this concept, by the way, it’s just the implementation that concerns me,” said Harris.
He also raised issue with the potential for displacement, with landlords raising rent to the extent that their current tenants are forced out. “There very well may be a counter effect,” Harris said, pointing out that the city already has a homeless population.
Regarding the problem of backlash, “I’ve been struggling with that issue, too,” said Councilman Dirk Slooten.
However, “We cannot do nothing,” Slooten said. “There are horrible living conditions for a lot of people in this town and we can’t just let that go.”
Slooten acknowledged it will cost more but he said they could possibly implement some programs to encourage the improvement of properties.
He said he had a rental home in Sacramento, where in the first year it cost $120 to participate, but two years later there was no cost. Slooten suggested such a sliding scale could work in Clearlake.
White said the city of Los Angeles has a rent escrow account program that’s tied into its rental inspection ordinance. It’s activated when a property owner fails to fix code violations within the allotted time. That program can place a lien on property, and it also helps reduce the monthly rent for tenants while repairs are under way, with the landlord assessed a monthly fee.
During the discussion, Flora told the council that the city could hire a firm to help identify rental properties. He said the current rental inspection ordinance needs some improvements, and that staff wants to propose revisions to it. When staff returns with a plan to fund the program, the council could consider at that time amending the existing ordinance.
Perdock said he thought the rent escrow account program that Los Angeles has could help protect people from being evicted, explaining he also doesn’t want people to become homeless. “We can’t turn a blind eye to this any longer.”
Clearlake resident Sheryl Almon said she appreciated the direction the council was moving in, noting that as a homeowner she has concerns about property values.
She said she’s in the process of upgrading a home and when she asked city staff if she needed a permit to rent it, she was told no. Almon also mentioned that the county’s Social Services Department has an extensive checklist for rentals for its clients, and that agency does annual inspections.
Robert Coker, a business owner and landlord, said he agreed with everything the council was talking about except for adding another fee onto landlords. “Our rents are low enough,” he said, adding they haven’t been raised in five years.
Mayor Russ Cremer asked White how many additional staffers would be needed to keep up with the rental program. White said he didn’t yet know, and that staff would return with an estimate. He said the new front office assistant job the council had approved for his department at the last meeting would help take on some of the load for processing properties.
Cremer said the council consensus was to move forward, and he directed staff to return with some specific recommendations at a later date.
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092619 Clearlake City Council meeting agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd
