Opposition grows against Eureka inspection scheme

Laughter, jeers greet pols as task force backs off fast-track approval

David Courtland, Humboldt Sentinel
8/12/09

Eureka

Local property owners continued giving an earful to proponents of a neglected rental ordinance Tuesday night in the Wharfinger Building, complaining the proposed law only duplicates ones already in place.

Councilmember Larry Glass and ad hoc task force members Lisa Ollivier, Virginia Hill and Lance Madsen took notes and answered questions as several dozen people, most of them landlords, lined up at a podium to vent their frustration with proposed inspections prompted by renters and neighbors.

"It looks like we're just trying to generate money, it's not going to help tenants, it's just going to help the city,” said Charlie Day, adding it seems the ordinance is going to be “crammed down our throats” whether anyone liked it or not. “I don't think that's right, I think it's a bad law, I don't think we ought to enact it.”

In response to those comments at last week's city council meeting, a section that excluded mobile homes and recreational vehicles used as rental units was dropped. The phrase “related to alleged criminal activity” was added to a section regarding the types of phone calls that could trigger civil liability for landlords -- although this would still leave in place what local attorney and Redwood ACLU chair Greg Allen called a “conclusive presumption” that lacked adequate safeguards against malicious calls or “calls by crazy people.”

None of the other attendees seemed mollified by the changes either, and City Attorney Cheryl Schaffner's frank admission that the ordinance is largely just a funding mechanism to pay for someone to coordinate inspections following complaints didn't sit well with the audience.

Schaffner -- whose estimate of 3,000 affected units doubled to 6,000 since the city council meeting -- suggested a $35 per unit per year fee that property owners say amounts to a tax or assessment. Her assurances the fee will probably go down as more properties are brought into compliance drew laughter, as did Glass' suggestion a sunset clause ending the policy after “maybe 50 years” could be added.

Skeptical landlords asked about the appeal process for complaints -- Schaffner said they are provided for by another municipal law -- and repeatedly complained the law would duplicate existing health and safety codes.

Another repeated complaint was that responsible landlords would be unfairly forced to pay for getting rid of a handful of irresponsible ones. Some said the law will hurt low-income tenants, and Schaffner acknowledged the fee is going to cause rent increases.

“We're being penalized because of bad landlords,” said Cheryl Clayton. “But I'm not a bad landlord and my tenant's not a bad tenant. She's going to have to move because I'm going to have to raise the rent and she can't afford it.”

Property manager Don Davenport pointed out renters on fixed incomes will have difficulty with higher rents and said the ordinance would make an already difficult situation even worse.

“My point is, people are just getting by, we need to recognize we're in a poor community,” said Davenport. “You want to go after somebody, go after the slumlords --we all know who they are.”

This point was echoed by local landlord Kelly Martin, who called for the formation of a citizen task force to go after “drug houses,” including their landlords.

Towards the end of the nearly four-hour hearing, Glass promised attendees that he would convene another town hall-style workshop prior to bringing the ordinance to the City Council for possible adoption.