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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3ACITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT DATE: APRIL 8, 2021 LEGISLATIVE SUBJECT: URGENCY ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS FOR COMMERCIAL TENANCIES FROM: David H. Ready, City Manager Jeff Ballinger, City Attorney BY: SUMMARY: The City Council will discuss and consider adopting an urgency ordinance amending and extending the City's previous temporary moratorium on COVID-19 based evictions as it relates to commercial landlord/tenant relationships. RECOMMENDATION: 1. That the City Council consider and adopt Urgency Ordinance No. _, entitled "AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE CITY'S TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES RESULTING FROM NONPAYMENT OF RENT WHEN SUCH NONPAYMENT WAS CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND SETTING FORTH THE FACTS CONSTITUTING SUCH URGENCY (four-fifths (4/5) vote required)" BACKGROUND March 19, 2020 --City Council adopted an urgency ordinance, establishing a 14 day moratorium on any eviction proceedings relating to residential or non-residential properties. April 2, 2020 --City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2022, an urgency ordinance enacting a temporary moratorium on residential and non-residential evictions resulting from non-payment of rent when such non-payment was caused by COVID-19 reasons. May 26, 2020 --City Council extended Ordinance No. 2022 to June 30, 2020. June 30, 2020 --City Council extended the protections of Ordinance No. 2022 through July 31, 2020. July 23, 2020 --City Council extended the protection period of Ordinance No. 2022 1 City Council Staff Report April 8, 2021 -Page 2 Temporary Moratorium on COVID-19 Evictions (Commercial) through September 30, 2020. September 10, 2020 --City Council considered the impacts of Assembly Bill ("AB") 3088 on the City's COVID-based eviction moratorium. September 24, 2020 -City Council provided direction to not extend the City's residential eviction moratorium past its previously established expiration date of September 30, 2020, but with the understanding that the City may re-consider the moratorium as it pertains to commercial tenancies, depending on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected local businesses, including both commercial landlords and tenants. March 25, 2021 --City Council discussed and considered potentially extending and modifying the City's COVID-19 eviction moratorium for commercial tenancies. The City Council provided direction to the Emergency Services Director to promulgate an emergency order, extending the protection against evictions for 30 days, which the Emergency Services Director did on March 29, 2021. ANALYSIS: The City's prior commercial eviction moratorium placed a moratorium on commercial evictions, in a manner that tracked Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-28-20. Specifically, the moratorium prohibits a landlord from taking any action to evict a commercial tenant for failure to pay rent during the specified period, if the tenant demonstrates, with verifiable proof (if requested by the landlord), that the tenant is unable to pay rent due to financial impacts related to COVID-19. The City's moratorium does not relieve the tenant from eventually paying the rent to the landlord. Instead, the moratorium provides that the tenant must pay all unpaid rent within 180 days following the end of the City's protection period. Based on the effective date of the City's commercial moratorium, which previously expired on September 30, 2020, if not extended, all unpaid commercial rent would have had to be paid by March 29, 2021. In addition, under the City's commercial moratorium, the tenant was required to pay whatever amount of rent the tenant could. The landlord could not charge any interest or late fees on the rent. In addition, the moratorium does not prevent a landlord from evicting a tenant who failed to pay rent when due before the City declared an emergency. Following that September Council meeting, the State imposed a regional stay at home order, lasting the better part of December, 2020 through January of 2021. Under the regional stay at home order, leisure travel, personal services, and in-person dining was prohibited. This had a significant, negative financial effect on the tourism industry within Palm Springs, as well as the other industries that benefit from that tourism industry, and came during the season when those sectors usually do well economically. As a result, the City Council requested that this item be brought forward, so that the City Council 2 City Council Staff Report April 8, 2021 -Page 3 Temporary Moratorium on COVID-19 Evictions (Commercial) can consider and decide whether local businesses that are tenants should receive some temporary economic relief. On March 4, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order (Executive Order N-03-21 ), which extends the authorization for local governments to halt evictions for commercial renters who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, through June 30, 2021.1 As with some prior executive orders from the State, this order is not self- executing, meaning that cities and counties would need to adopt an ordinance or emergency order in order to put such tenant protections in place. Under Executive Order N-03-21, a city may enact a commercial eviction moratorium, with the following provisions: • The basis for the eviction is nonpayment of rent, or a foreclosure, arising out of a substantial decrease in business income (including, but not limited to, a substantial decrease in business income caused by a reduction in opening hours or consumer demand); and • The decrease in business income described in the paragraph above was caused by COVID-19 pandemic, or by any local, state, or federal government response to COVID-19, and is documented. In addition to these requirements, additional conditions could be included, at the City Council's discretion, as discussed below. Options Available At the City Council's March 25, 2021 meeting, the Council discussed several options, including the following: • Allow the expired moratorium to remain expired. This would have meant that all unpaid commercial rent would need to be paid by March 29, 2021. For those tenants that have not been paying their full rent for this past year, this would have resulted in those tenants facing eviction from their landlords. With the court system currently back-logged and evictions taking a lower priority over criminal and other statutorily preferred matters, this could have put landlords in a very difficult situation with their tenants. • Extend the expired moratorium to a date certain, while keeping the substantive terms of the moratorium as discussed above. Without any provision for the payment of ongoing rent and repayment of past due rent, this would have merely delayed an inevitable situation where tenants owe a very sizable amount of back- 1 Although this latest extension from the State lasts only until June 30, 2021, it is possible that the order could be extended beyond that date, between now and June 30, 2021. In addition, many cities have taken the position (quite legitimately) that they do not legally need authority from the State to adopt emergency eviction moratoria, and therefore have adopted moratoria that went beyond the time limits set forth in State executive orders. 3 City Council Staff Report April 8, 2021 -Page 4 Temporary Moratorium on COVID-19 Evictions (Commercial) rent. Unless the current court backlog is remedied by that time, the same situation discussed above would have occurred, resulting in landlords being owed significant amounts and not being able to effectively recoup those amounts. • Extend and modify the City's expired moratorium. For example, one option could provide that in order for a commercial tenant to be eligible for protection against eviction: • The tenant must have made an effort to pay some reasonable amount during the period from March 2020 to March 2021, perhaps 25% of outstanding rent. • The tenant must remain current on rent starting April 2021 and going forward, or enter into a written agreement with the landlord. This would provide the tenant and landlord with predictability for their cash flow in 2021 and 22. • The tenant must provide a reasonable payment plan to repay outstanding rent, perhaps spreading the unpaid rent obligation over twelve (12) months. The City Council could provide that the repayment obligation starts on the date that the moratorium ends. So, if the moratorium ends on June 30, 2021, the tenant would have twelve months from that date to repay the outstanding rent. Another option would be to require the tenant to start paying some portion of the outstanding rent immediately. This would enable the tenant to keep up with current rent and, at the same time, incrementally re-pay back rent. The City Council discussed the above-referenced options and identified some concerns, including: • Protecting local, non-chain establishments. • Ensuring that rent is kept current, on a going forward basis. • Providing for a reasonable repayment period for back-due rent. • Encouraging those businesses who receive financial assistance from the City use that financial assistance to pay their rent, in order protect the City's brick and mortar businesses. • Encouraging tenants and landlords to reach agreement as to payment and re- payment obligations. • Not over-riding lease/rental agreements that have been made during the COVID- 19 emergency. The accompanying Urgency Ordinance addresses these concerns. The ordinance primarily follows the third option identified above, by amending and extending the protections of the commercial eviction moratorium. The ordinance requires protected tenants to be a non-chain store. A "chain" establishment is one that has less than 11 locations worldwide and has standardized features.2 2 This definition is based on a definition under the San Francisco Planning Code, section 303.1. 4 City Council Staff Report April 8, 2021 -Page 5 Temporary Moratorium on COVID-19 Evictions (Commercial) The ordinance requires the tenant to remain current with the tenant's lease/rent payment obligations, as those payment obligations exist as of the date of the ordinance adoption. In order to provide for a reasonable repayment period for back-due rent, the ordinance also requires tenants to enter into a written agreement with their landlords, within 20 days following the ordinance adoption, to pay back any unpaid rent. Such repayment must be made within twelve (12) months, in twelve (12) equal installments. The ordinance also requires tenants, in order to be protected under the ordinance, to have paid 25% of their payment obligations from March 2020 to March 2021. This payment can be made in one lump sum, or based on payments that have been made during that time period. In any event, the full payment must be made within 20 days following adoption of the ordinance. In order to encourage those businesses who have receive financial assistance from the City's small business assistance program, the ordinance provides that such tenants must use that assistance to pay their rent, to the maximum extent feasible. Finally, in order to encourage landlords and tenants to reach agreement and not upset previously established agreements that have been entered into during the pandemic, the ordinance exempts from its coverage any landlord/tenant relationship that is governed by a written agreement that was entered into since the date that Riverside most recently went into the "red" tier, which was March 17, 2021. As such, the accompanying ordinance is proposed, as a reasonable compromise, which protects commercial tenants from eviction, while at the same time helping to ensure that current rent and back rent is paid over a reasonable time. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: Any action by the City Council would not result in any impact to the environment. FISCAL IMPACT: Any action by the City Council is unlikely to have a significant financial impact to the City. Should the Council provide direction to extend, terminate or modify the City's COVID-19 eviction moratorium as it relates to non-residential tenancies, there would be an economic impact on those landlords and tenants. SUBMITTED BY: David H. Ready, Esq.,P City Manager 5 City Council Staff Report April 8, 2021 -Page 6 Temporary Moratorium on COVID-19 Evictions (Commercial) Attachment: 1. Urgency Ordinance Amending and Extending Commercial Eviction Moratorium 6 ATTACHMENT 1 7 ORDINANCE NO. -- AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE CITY'S TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS FOR NON- RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES RESULTING FROM NONPAYMENT OF RENT WHEN SUCH NONPAYMENT WAS CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND SETTING FORTH THE FACTS CONSTITUTING SUCH URGENCY City Attorney's Summary This is an urgency ordinance of the City of Palm Springs, California, amends the protections provided under a temporary moratorium on evictions for non-residential tenancies due to nonpayment of rent from tenants where the failure to pay rent results from income loss resulting from the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and setting forth the facts constituting the urgency. WHEREAS, international, national, state, and local health and governmental authorities are responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus named "SARS -CoV-2" and the disease it causes has been named "coronavirus disease 2019," abbreviated COVID-19 ("COVID-19"); and WHEREAS, on March 8, 2020, the Riverside County Health Officer declared a local emergency and local public health emergency to aid the regional healthcare and governmental community in responding to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, the Governor of the State of California declared a state of emergency to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across multiple state agencies and departments, and help the state prepare for broader spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States of America declared a national emergency and announced that the federal government would make emergency funding available to assist state and local governments in preventing the spread of and addressing the effects of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, on March 16, the Governor of the State of California issued an Executive Order temporarily reducing any limits on local governments' ability to impose their own "substantive limitations on residential or commercial evictions" through May 31, 2020, which Executive Order was subsequently extended to September 30, 2020; and WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the City Manager, as the City's Emergency Services Director, proclaimed the existence of a local emergency to ensure the availability of mutual aid and an effective the City's response to the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"); and 8 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page2 WHEREAS, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Department of Health, and the Riverside County Department of Public Health have all issued recommendations including but not limited to social distancing, staying home if sick, canceling or postponing large group events, working from home, and other precautions to protect public health and prevent transmission of this communicable virus; and WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, the City Manager, as the City's Emergency Services Director, issued a shelter in place order, ordering that individuals living in the City of Palm Springs to shelter at their place of residence, excluding activities necessary to provide or receive certain essential services or engage in certain essential activities and work for essential business and government service; and WHEREAS, the Governor and State Public Health Officer have issued shelter in place orders, and previously closed all "non-essential" operations, causing severe economic hardship on non-residential tenants; and WHEREAS, as a result of the public health emergency and the precautions recommended by health authorities, many non-residential tenants in Palm Springs have experienced sudden, severe and unexpected revenue loss; and WHEREAS, the situation is unprecedented and evolving rapidly. Further economic impacts are anticipated, leaving non-residential tenants vulnerable to eviction; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance is only intended to be temporary in nature, to promote stability and fairness within the non-residential real estate markets in the City during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, and to prevent avoidable widespread business disruption, job loss, which is likely to result in homelessness, thereby serving the public peace, health, safety, and public welfare and to enable tenants in the City whose revenue and ability to work is affected due to COVID-19 to remain in their places of business; and WHEREAS, in the interest of public health and safety, as affected by the emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19, it is necessary to exercise authority to adopt this ordinance related to the protection of life and property, to ensure that tenants of non-residential properties can remain in their places of business and prevent proliferation of homelessness and further spread of COVID-19. Displacement through eviction creates undue hardship for tenants through additional relocation costs, stress and anxiety, and the threat of homelessness due to the lack of alternative housing and employment and lack of moving services and supplies as stores and businesses close. During the COVI D-19 pandemic outbreak, affected tenants who have lost revenue due to impact on the economy or their employment may be at risk of homelessness if they are unable to work and therefore evicted for non-payment of rent for their homes. Businesses and other tenants of non-residential properties will be similarly harmed, with significant consequences for the public health, safety, and welfare; and 9 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page 3 WHEREAS, people experiencing homelessness are especially vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 due to an inability to practice social distancing and a lack of access to health care. The Governor has ordered the State to take extraordinary measures to secure shelter for homeless populations during this emergency to limit exposure to and spreading of COVID-19. Widespread evictions of tenants vulnerable to eviction due to financial hardship occurring due to COVID-19 would exacerbate the challenge of sheltering the homeless during this emergency, and increase the risk of spread of COVID- 19; and WHEREAS, the City desires to continue to prohibit evictions due to non-payment of rent for tenants of all types of non-residential properties where the failure to pay rent results from COVID-19 related reasons; and WHEREAS, on April 2, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2022, an urgency ordinance enacting a temporary moratorium on evictions resulting from non- payment of rent when such non-payment was caused by COVID-19 reasons, which ordinance provided that it would expire on June 4, 2020, unless extended; and WHEREAS, on May 26, 2020, the City Council extended Ordinance No. 2022 to June 30, 2020, unless extended or terminated by either the City Council or the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services; and WHEREAS, on June 30, 2020, the City Council extended the protections of Ordinance No. 2022 through July 31, 2020, unless extended or terminated by either the City Council or the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services; and WHEREAS, on June 30, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-71-20, which extended the authorization for local governments to halt evictions of renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through September 30, 2020; and WHEREAS, on July 23, 2020, the City Council extended the protection period of Ordinance No. 2022 through September 30, 2020; and WHEREAS, on September 1, 2020 Governor Newsom signed AB 3088. Among other things, this law supersedes portions of the City's temporary moratorium on residential evictions for non-payment of rent and adopts a moratorium through January 31, 2021 so long as tenants comply with the Act's requirements. As a result, the City is restating its urgency ordinance for the purpose of terminating the protection period for residential tenancies, effective September 30, 2020; and WHEREAS, AB 3088 does not affect non-residential tenancies, and therefore the City is authorized to modify the City's temporary eviction moratorium as it relates to non- residential tenancies; and 10 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page4 WHEREAS, at the September 24, 2020 City Council meeting, the City Council provided direction to not extend the City's residential eviction moratorium past its previously established expiration date of September 30, 2020; and WHEREAS, on September 24, 2020, the City Council directed staff to not extend the commercial moratorium, but with the understanding that the City may re-consider the moratorium, depending on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected local businesses, including both commercial landlords and tenants; and WHEREAS, on March 4, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-03-21, which extends the authorization for local governments through June 30, 2021 to halt evictions for commercial renters who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic WHEREAS, at the March 25, 2021 City Council meeting, the City Council discussed the potential for extending and/or modifying the commercial eviction moratorium, and directed the Director of Emergency Services to extend the protections regarding commercial eviction moratorium for thirty (30) days, which emergency order was promulgated by the Director of Emergency Services on April 29, 2021 (the "Commercial Eviction Emergency Order"); and WHEREAS, the Recitals contained in Ordinance No. 2022, as well as the extensions of such are hereby incorporated by reference herein; and WHEREAS, as a result of the additional Stay at Home Orders issued by the State following the September 24, 2020 City Council meeting, the City Council finds that extending the commercial eviction moratorium, as amended by this Urgency Ordinance, is reasonably related to the protection of life and property as affected by such emergency, in that extending such moratorium will prevent eviction actions that are likely to negatively impact tenant businesses as well as the judicial system; and WHEREAS, the City has authority to adopt this Ordinance under the City's police power and the powers afforded to the city in time of national, state, county and local emergency during an unprecedented health pandemic, such powers being afforded by the State Constitution, State law and Sections 312 and 315 of the Palm Springs Charter to protect the peace, health, and safety of the public. The Palm Springs City Council finds that this ordinance is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety of residents living within the City and finds urgency to approve this ordinance immediately based on the facts described herein, and detailed in the staff report. Under Government Code Section 8634, this ordinance is necessary to provide for the protection of life and property. 11 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page 5 THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Temporary Moratorium on Evictions for Non-Residential Tenancies for Non-Payment of Rent by Tenants Impacted by the COVID-19 Crisis. A. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Palm Springs Municipal Code or State law, during the protection period, no landlord shall endeavor to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent if the tenant demonstrates that the tenant is unable to pay rent due to financial impacts related to COVID-19. B. A landlord who knows that a tenant cannot pay some or all of the rent temporarily for the reasons set forth above shall not serve a notice pursuant fo CCP 1161 (2), file or prosecute an unlawful detainer action based on a pay or quit notice, or otherwise seek to evict for nonpayment of rent. A landlord knows of a tenant's inability to pay rent within the meaning of this Ordinance if the tenant, prior to the date that is seven (7) days following the date that the rent is due, notifies the landlord in writing of the reason for the tenant's inability to pay full rent due to financial impacts related to COVID-19. If the landlord requests documentation supporting the tenant's claim within ten (10) days following the landlord's receipt of the tenant's written reason, then the tenant shall provide documentation to support the tenant's claim within thirty (30) days following tenant's receipt of the landlord's request. Any medical or financial information provided to the landlord shall be held in confidence, and used only for evaluating the tenant's claim. C. Definitions. For purposes of this Ordinance, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (i) "Chain" shall mean a type of commercial activity or establishment that has eleven or more other establishments in operation, or with local land use or permit entitlements already approved, located anywhere in the world. In addition to the eleven or more other establishments, maintains two or more of the following features: a standardized array of merchandise, a standardized facade, a standardized decor and color scheme, a uniform apparel, standardized signage, a trademark or a servicemark. For purposes of this definition, a franchisee of a chain operation shall be considered a "chain" operation. (ii) "Current lease/rent payment obligations" shall mean the lease or rental obligations that are in place as of the date of the adoption of this Urgency Ordinance, April 8, 2021, as such 12 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page6 obligations may be adjusted pursuant to a written lease/rental agreement between the landlord and tenant. (iii) "Endeavor to evict" includes, but is not limited to, serving an eviction notice (aka 3-day notice to pay or quit), filing or prosecuting an unlawful detainer action based on a 3-day notice to pay or quit notice, or otherwise attempting to evict the tenant for nonpayment of rent. (iv) "Financial impacts related to COVI D-19" shall mean the a tenant's documented loss of income or an increase in expenses, due to the tenant's closure of, operating restrictions placed upon, or other loss of patronage of the tenant's business, directly resulting from: (a) the federally-declared emergency, state- declared emergency, locally declared emergency, or any stay at home ordered issued pursuant to any of the foregoing; or (b) any other emergency order or declaration related to COVID-19. (v) "In writing" includes email or text communications to a party or that party's representative with whom the sender has previously corresponded by email or text. (vi) "Protection period" means the period commencing as of March 1, 2020 and continuing until June 30, 2021, unless terminated or extended by the City Council or Emergency Services Director. (vii) "Tenant" means any tenant of real property located within the City of Palm Springs, which real property is leased or rented for non-residential use, including commercial or industrial purposes. In addition to the foregoing, any tenant must meet he qualifications of subsection D of this Ordinance in order to be afforded the protections of this Ordinance. D. Qualifications of Tenants. In order to be afforded the protections of this Ordinance, a tenant must meet all of the following qualifications: (i) The tenant must have been legally required to close or reduce its operations, based on the fact that the tenant was within an industry that was ordered to close or limit its operations by any federal, state or local COVID-19 health order. 13 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page 7 (ii) The tenant must have paid at least 25% of the tenant's then-current lease/payment obligations arising during the period from March 2020 to March 2021. Such payment obligation may be met in one lump-sum payment or may be based on an aggregate of payments totaling twenty five percent (25%). Such payment must be made on or before the date that is twenty (20) days following the date of adoption of this Ordinance, April 8, 2021. (iii) The tenant must stay current on the tenant's current lease/rent payment obligations, commencing with the April 2021 lease/rent payment. (iii) The tenant must enter into, and must remain in compliance with, a written agreement with the tenant's landlord, agreeing to re-pay, within twelve (12) months following the date of adoption of this Ordinance, April 8, 2021, the tenant's unpaid back- rent (if any) over a twelve (12) month period, in equal monthly installments. Any such agreement must be entered into between the landlord and tenant within twenty (20) days following the date of adoption of this Ordinance, April 8, 2021. (iv) The tenant must not be a "chain" establishment. E. Violation of this Ordinance shall be punishable as set forth in Sections 1.01 .140 and 2.20.100 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code. In addition, this Ordinance grants a defense in the event that an unlawful detainer action is commenced in violation of this Ordinance. In addition, in the event of a violation of this Ordinance, an aggrieved tenant may institute a civil proceeding for injunctive relief, money damage, and whatever other relief the court deems appropriate. In the case of an award for damages, said award shall only be awarded if the trier of fact finds that the landlord acted in knowing violation of, or in reckless disregard of, this Ordinance. The prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and costs pursuant to order of the court. The remedies available in this subsection shall be in addition to any other existing remedies that may be available to the tenant under local, state or federal law. F. Nothing in this Ordinance shall relieve the tenant of liability for the unpaid rent. A landlord may not charge or collect any interest or any late fee for rent that is delayed for the reasons stated in this Ordinance and that would otherwise have been charged during the protection period. G. No other legal remedies available to landlord are affected by this Ordinance. This Ordinance does not prevent a landlord from evicting 14 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page8 a tenant who failed to pay rent when due prior to March 1, 2020 or for any other lease violation. H. The protections afforded by this Ordinance do not apply to any of the following circumstances: (i) Residential tenancies, including, for purposes of this Ordinance, transient and tourist hotel occupancies as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1940 of the California Civil Code, housing accommodations in any nonprofit hospital, religious facility, extended care facility, licensed care facility for the elderly, or adult residential facility, or dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, school. (ii) Evictions from, or orders to vacate, any premises as ordered by any state, federal or local government agency for reasons of public health or safety, severe public nuisance, or necessitated by the COVI D-19 emergency. (iii) Any landlord/tenant relationship that is governed by a written agreement that is entered into between the landlord and tenant on or after the date that Riverside County most recently moved to the "red tier", March 17, 2021. I. This Ordinance shall remain in effect through June 30, 2021, unless extended by the City Council or the Emergency Services Director. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and in order to prevent inconsistencies, the Director of Emergency Services may suspend the effectiveness of this ordinance in the event that the President of the United States, Congress, Governor of the State of California, or California State Legislature adopts an order or legislation to the extent that such order or legislation pre- empts this ordinance. J. Financial assistance paid by a government agency to a rental property owner designed to mitigate the impacts of non-payment of rent due to financial impacts related to COVID-19, including any financial assistance provided by the City of Palm Springs, shall be credited against the rental payment(s) owed for the landlord's rental unit(s). Similarly, financial assistance paid by a government agency to a tenant specifically to assist with rental assistance made necessary by the financial impacts related to COVID-19 shall be used by such tenant, to the maximum extent feasible. 15 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page 9 SECTION 2. Rescission of April 29, 2021 Commercial Eviction Emergency Order. The April 29, 2021 Commercial Eviction Moratorium Emergency Order is superseded by this Urgency Ordinance and is therefore hereby rescinded, effective immediately upon adoption of this Urgency Ordinance; provided, however, that any rights or protections that were afforded to any person during the effectiveness of such Commercial Eviction Moratorium Emergency Order shall not be affected by this rescission. SECTION 3. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the remaining provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 4. Environmental Review. The City Council finds that adoption and implementation of this ordinance is not a "project" for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as that term is defined by CEQA guidelines (Guidelines) sections 15061(b)(3), and 15378(b)(5). The effect of the proposed amendment will be to maintain the status quo. No new development will result from the proposed action. No impact to the physical environment will result. The City Council also alternatively finds that the adoption and implementation of this ordinance is exempt from the provisions of CEQA as an administrative activity by the City of Palm Springs, in furtherance of its police power, that will not result in any direct or indirect physical change in the environment, per sections 15061 (b)(3), and 15378(b)(5) of the CEQA Guidelines, as well as CEQA Guidelines section 15064(e) (economic regulations). SECTION 5. Urgency Declaration; Effective Date. The City Council finds and declares that the adoption and implementation of this ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation and protection of the public peace, health and safety as detailed above and as the City and public would suffer potentially irreversible displacement of tenants resulting from evictions for failure to pay rent during the COVID-19 crisis. During this local emergency, and in the interest of protecting the public health and preventing transmission of COVID-19, it is essential to avoid unnecessary tenant displacement, and to prevent employees and business owners affected by COVID-19 from falling into homelessness due to eviction. Loss of income as a result of COVID-19 may inhibit City residents and businesses from fulfilling their financial obligations, including payment of rent. Under Government Code Section 8634 and Palm Springs Municipal Code Chapter 2.20, this Ordinance is necessary to provide for the protection of life and property for the reasons set out herein. The Council therefore finds and determines that the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, and protection of life and property, require that this Ordinance be enacted as an urgency ordinance pursuant to Government Code section 36937 and take effect immediately upon adoption by four-fifths of the City Council. 16 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page 10 PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED BY THE PALM SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL THIS 8TH DAY OF APRIL, 2021. ATTEST: ANTHONY J. MEJIA, MMC CITY CLERK CHRISTY HOLSTEGE MAYOR 17 Urgency Ordinance No. __ Page 11 CERTIFICATION STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss. CITY OF PALM SPRINGS ) I, ANTHONY J. MEJIA, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, California, do hereby certify that Urgency Ordinance No. __ is a full, true, and correct copy, and was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on ____ by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Palm Springs, California, this ___ day of _________ _ ANTHONY J. MEJIA, MMC CITY CLERK 18