Increased protections

In response to the outrageous Guardian story, the City has moved quickly to discuss possible changes to the rent control ordinance.  From  a press release:

At its September 3, 2019 meeting, the City Council will consider a revised rent control ordinance including:
· Adding numerous definitions to the ordinance and clarifying what units are exempt from the ordinance;
· Increasing the length of time from one year to three years that an owner must reside in the unit following move in;
· Tying permanent relocation payments to fair market rents;
· Eliminating trading extra time in the unit for a reduction in relocation payments;
· Requiring a relocation payment if a rent increase is more than 10% and the tenant decides to vacate rather than pay the increase;
· Permitting buyout agreements;
· Allowing landlords to pass through 50% of the rent program fee without being included in the calculation of a rent increase; and
· Extending eviction protections to Section 8 voucher holders.

The City Council will also consider a proposed fair housing ordinance that would prohibit discrimination, including for source of income (including Section 8), age, disability, and family status, and would prohibit tenant harassment and lockouts.

To review recent and proposed policy changes to Alameda’s Rent Stabilization Program and the proposed ordinance, please join us for a community meeting:

WHAT: Community meeting regarding Alameda’s rent ordinance and upcoming fair housing and anti-discrimination laws

WHERE: Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak Street, Stafford Room

WHEN: August 29, 2019, 6-7:30 pm

Please contact the Rent Stabilization Program with questions at rrac@alamedahsg.org, visit them online at http://www.alamedarentprogram.org, or call 510-747-4346.

Slow down in town

Both #1 daughter and #2 son are Junior Jets now and while walking them to school yesterday  (okay, I drove but parked far away to not add to the congestion) we noticed some very questionable speeding around the school during drop off time.  #2 son asked why someone would drive like that around school.  I told him that sometimes people were more concerned about getting their kids to school quickly than being mindful about other kids.

So maybe we can all just slow down a little bit as we travel past either our kids’ schools or just any school in general since it’s other people’s babies that are crossing streets and just trying to get to school.

As a reminder, the greater the speed in which you’re traveling the harder it is to stop.

Duck walking and talking

It’s amazing that we’re getting reporting about Alameda from a British newspaper.  I don’t think we’ve seen this level of outrageous landlord tenant behavior since the Central Avenue apartments evictions which kicked off the rent stabilization discussion in Alameda.

This happens to be about the Dunes in Alameda which is located on Shoreline.  From the Guardian.

[T]he 87-year-old is faced with a threat that he is afraid he won’t survive: his California landlord is evicting him to bring in wealthier tenants, and he has nowhere else to go.

…

The landlords, who have been fighting to evict Rishin for a year, also targeted his terminally ill son, Yaroslav, who lived with him in the apartment until his death in April. The owners, whose formal reason for the eviction is “desire to lease the unit at a higher rental rate”, sent multiple termination notices and threats to the family while Yaroslav was fighting cancer and while he was in hospice care.

 

Fare hoping

It’s pretty funny in a super depressing way that the center of the tech world, the Bay Area, is so far behind other cities and other countries when it comes to public transportation and how to pay for it.

I mean, yes, it great we have the Clipper card which works on most forms of transit, but other places have made it possible to use your phone or even contactless cards to pay for transit.  Imagine that!

From the Verge:

New Yorkers can use Apple Pay to ride the Metropolitan Transportation Authority starting May 31st, the company announced today. Previously, the company’s CEO Tim Cook had said Apple Pay would begin rolling out to the MTA’s subways and buses in “early summer.”

People who want to use Apple Pay to ride the MTA will need to download the latest version of iOS (12.3) and watchOS (5.2.1), and then authenticate a credit or debit card to use with a new feature called Express Transit. After that, you won’t need to open an app or unlock your phone to use it with the MTA.

It’s part of the MTA’s public test of its new fare payment system called OMNY, which stands for “One Metro New York.” To start out, this tap-to-pay system will only be available on the 4/5/6 subway lines between Grand Central Station in Manhattan and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as well as the buses in Staten Island.

Smart move

And the full statement:

For immediate release —

Today I notified Alameda City Manager Eric Levitt that I am withdrawing my request that the City reimburse legal fees I had incurred responding to allegations made by the former city manager. I do so in the spirit of allowing me and the City to fully focus on the teamwork necessary to addressing the tough issues of school safety/security, housing affordability, homelessness and vital services for all Island families.

I want to thank the community who have so vocally supported the City and my vision over the last several years. Be assured that I will continue to champion issues of concern to Alamedans in our collective fight to ensure that core needs, values and services are protected amidst unrelenting attack by the federal government, climate change, and the effects of gentrification.

Thank you!

Councilmember Jim Oddie

I’d like to make a withdrawal

Hot of the public records requests:

 

Bringing back shop class

#1 daughter is participating in some sort of activity in which she helps incoming sixth graders to Encinal’s Junior Jets to understand the ins and outs of being a student on a high school campus.  Even though I am near the Encinal campus almost every day I don’t actually go past it until today.

I have to say, I’m a little concerned about the state of construction at Encinal and how it can be at all functioning for students who are starting NEXT WEEK.

Look I know everyone is super excited about how pretty the Historic Alameda High School looks, but whole wings at Encinal are missing an entire wall.  An entire wall.

The fee is too damn high

In no big surprise, a study commissioned by the state has confirmed that development fees increase the cost of housing.

 

I mean, it’s pretty obvious.  But sometimes not so obvious for your average citizen who knows little about development fees yet want to make pronouncements about what developers should pay for.

From the LA Times:

In California, local government fees on housing construction, which can be used on parks, traffic control, water and sewer connections and other services, were nearly three times the national average in 2015, according to a 2018 Terner Center report. In some cities, researchers found, fees can amount to 18% of median home prices.

National Horror Story: can someone reboot this country?

There’s something seriously broken here.

Our government is deliberately orphaning people. You may believe that’s an acceptable outcome of a separate policy goal. But it is indisputably what is happening here. And it’s heartbreaking. https://t.co/isexxhQrbb

— Sam Stein (@samstein) August 8, 2019

Jimmy’s parents were refugees. They clearly brought him to the United States, the only country he ever knew, so he could have a better life. Under this admin he was forced onto a plane to a wartorn country where he’d never been and had no support and within 2 months he was dead. https://t.co/x5GJqiCsKU

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) August 8, 2019

 

Charter side by side: Oakland

I was going to check through a bunch of neighboring Charter cities to see if anyone had language like ours regarding interference.  I started with a list and started working my way down then figured I should just start with the closest cities and work my way outward.

The City of Oakland, folks, is a charter city and they have language in their charter which covers what our section is supposed to cover but they do it much more explicitly and it’s very clear.

As a reminder, here is Alameda’s language:

Neither the Council nor any of the members thereof shall interfere with the execution by the City Manager of his or her powers and duties. Except for purposes of inquiry, the Council and its members shall deal with that portion of the administrative service for which the City Manager is responsible solely through him or her. An attempt by a Councilmember to influence the City Manager in the making of any appointment or the purchase of any materials or supplies shall subject such Councilmember to removal from office for malfeasance.