Eighteen months after inadvertently repealing its rent stabilization ordinance for mobile home parks, the Vallejo City Council on Tuesday approved reestablishing rent control for tenants.
Tenants staged protests recently demanding City Hall and the council re-instate the controls to prevent significant rent increases.
The vote Tuesday was the second and final action required to institute the rent control, which will take effect in 30 days.
A handful of park tenants spoke, urging the council to approve a final reading of the ordinance.
Assistant City Manager Teri Killgore said staff will need about 100 to 120 days to work on amendments to the approved ordinance, namely the possibility of rolling back rents to the levels when the original ordinance was repealed in 2016.
She noted the time frame is due to current staffing levels, the scope of the amendments, and possibly meeting with park owners and tenants.
Vallejo Mayor Bob Samapayan said he had discussions with Killgore about the possibility of the city needing to hire at least one full-time employee.
The hiring would be required to handle all the items associated with the ordinance since employees in the Vallejo Housing Authority are paid via federal monies for certain duties.
The council also approved a final reading of an ordinance amending the duties of the Housing and Community Development Commission — granting the commission power to hold public hearings on petitions protesting rental increases.
“The petition must be signed by a representative of at least 51 percent of the occupied, affected spaces within the park within 30 days of receipt of the proposed increase,” the new language states.
The Vallejo City Clerk’s Office will determine if the petition is complete. If so, the commission will hold the public hearing. The rent increase will not take effect until the commission, or Vallejo City Council on an appeal of the commission’s ruling, has decided the issue, staff said.