We Won! Burbank City Council Rejects Permanent Ordinance and Limits Urgency Ordinance
At its meeting on September 12th, the Burbank City Council unanimously rejected a draft permanent ordinance that would require TRIPLE the amount of relocation fees for ALL No-Fault evictions as currently required by state law. Instead, they adopted an urgency ordinance for only substantial remodels that requires three months of current rent as relocation assistance. There are also new permit and notice requirements for both substantial remodels and demolition. AAGLA successfully advocated to reject the permanent ordinance and have it sent back in full to a subcommittee for further consideration and stakeholder input. In addition, we strongly lobbied for the limitation of the increased relocation fees to only substantial remodels, so that rental housing providers are still able to move into their properties when needed, comply with government mandates, and conduct demolitions without being forced to pay increased relocation fees.
The Urgency Ordinance is effective immediately. We encourage members who live or own properties in the City of Burbank to view the full details of the Urgency Ordinance (see below) and consult with an attorney, as needed.
AAGLA conducted extensive outreach to city council members before the meeting, provided written formal and public comments during the meeting. Thanks to in-person turnout by AAGLA members and multifamily owners coupled with AAGLA’s zealous advocacy, we were able to defeat the permanent ordinance and substantially reduce the urgency ordinance. This substantial success in Burbank clearly demonstrates that when owners turn out in-person, they can change the entire course of a City Council’s direction on policies impacting the rental housing industry. We thank all those who attended the meetings and those who emailed and called City Council members.
However, this issue isn’t over yet. At the meeting, Mayor Konstantine Anthony continued to push for the original ordinance language while the rest of Council voted in favor of amending the Urgency Ordinance to exclusively cover substantial remodeling only. We thank Council Member Mullins for being a leader in speaking out in pursuit of fair and equitable treatment of mom-and-pop owners by championing AAGLA’s request of exemption for mom-and-pop owners from the increased relocation fees. This exemption will be further considered at a future City Council meeting as part of the permanent ordinance and AAGLA will continue to advocate for it. In addition, AAGLA will be an active participant in the subcommittee reviewing the permanent ordinance as to all of its parameters. We strongly urge all Burbank AAGLA members to immediately sign up for an AAGLA advocacy team TODAY by emailing Max Sherman at Max@aagla.org. With your help, we will continue to successfully beat back these poorly thought-out policy ideas in Burbank.
Notably, with the adoption of the Urgency Ordinance, funds from the existing HALA relocation assistance program will not be available in the case of no-fault notices to vacate related to substantial remodel given September 12, 2023, and later. However, the relocation assistance will still be available for renters facing other types of No-Fault evictions, including owner move-ins, government mandates, and demolition.
Currently, there is no date yet published for when the subcommittee meeting will be held or when the permanent ordinance will come back for consideration. AAGLA will continue to monitor this issue, advocate for our members' interests, and provide updates as recommendations are presented to the City Council.
This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions regarding your property or specific tenancies and the requirements of any local law changes described herein, please consult with an attorney.