City Council

CITY OF MOUNTAIN VIEW FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 - 6:30 PM CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES - Final VIDEO CONFERENCE: CITY WEB SITE, YOUTUBE AND COMCAST CHANNEL 26 Margaret Abe-Koga, Mayor Kimbra McCarthy, City Manager Ellen Kamei, Vice Mayor Krishan Chopra, City Attorney Chris Clark, Councilmember Lisa Natusch, City Clerk Alison Hicks, Councilmember Lisa Matichak, Councilmember John McAlister, Councilmember Lucas Ramirez, Councilmember March 27, 2020 Video Conference: City Web site, YouTube and Comcast Channel 26 JOINT SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL AND SHORELINE REGIONAL PARK COMMUNITY This special meeting was conducted in accordance with State of California Executive Order N-29-20, dated March 17, 2020. All members of the City Council participated in the meeting by video conference, with no physical meeting location. 6:30 P.M.-SPECIAL SESSION 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Abe-Koga called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: 7- Councilmember Clark, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Matichak, Councilmember McAlister, Councilmember Ramirez, Vice Mayor Kamei, Mayor Abe-Koga Mayor Abe-Koga provided introductory comments. 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC ON NONAGENDIZED ITEMS No speakers. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 4.1 #TogetherMV - Update and Recommendations on Rent Relief Program, Small Business Assistance Program, Safe Parking, Utility Bill Assistance, and Other Community Support Efforts to Address the COVID-19 Emergency City Manager Kimbra McCarthy presented the staff report. Business Development Specialist Tiffany Chew, Assistant City Manager/Chief Operations Officer Audrey Seymour Ramberg, Assistant to the City Manager Kimberly Thomas, Assistant to the City Manager Christina Gilmore and Assistant Community Development Director Wayne Chen provided additional information. Public Comment opened at 7:02 p.m. City of Mountain View Page 1 City Council MEETING MINUTES - Final 3/27/2020 City Clerk Lisa Natusch summarized a comment received by voice mail from the following member of the public: Leticia Public Comment closed at 7:02 p.m. MOTION - M/S - Ramirez/Kamei - To: 1. Appropriate up to $400,000 from the General Non-Operating Fund to the City Manager’s Office to provide assistance to Mountain View small businesses to be dispersed through the Los Altos Community Foundation. 2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute an agreement with the County of Santa Clara to operate 24/7 safe parking programs at the Evelyn and Terra Bella lots and an agreement with VTA at the Evelyn lot, and appropriate $100,000 from the General Non-Operating Fund to the City Manager’s Office as a City match for County funds to support these extended services through the end of Fiscal Year 2019-20. 3. Appropriate up to $100,000 from the General Non-Operating Fund to the City Manager’s Office to support a utility bill relief program. 4. Appropriate $50,000 for mobile sanitation and hygiene services from the General Non-Operating Fund through the end of Fiscal Year 2019-20. 5. Appropriate $50,000 for food vouchers from the General Non-Operating Fund to the City Manager’s Office through the end of Fiscal Year 2019-20. 6. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute an agreement with the County Public Health - Valley Homeless Healthcare Program regarding placement of a mobile medical unit on City Downtown Parking Lot 7 adjacent to Hopes Corner; and Direct staff to return to Council with a proposal for a loan program for small apartment complexes. Following discussion, Councilmember Ramirez modified the motion to include authorization for an additional $100,000 in a separate fund for small apartment complex owners with 9 units or less. Vice Mayor Kamei accepted the modification. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- Councilmember Clark, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Matichak, Councilmember McAlister, Councilmember Ramirez, Vice Mayor Kamei, Mayor Abe-Koga 5. NEW BUSINESS City of Mountain View Page 2 City Council MEETING MINUTES - Final 3/27/2020 5.1 Urgency Ordinance Temporarily Suspending Evictions for Nonpayment of Rent by Residential Tenants Impacted by COVID-19 City Manager Kimbra McCarthy introduced the item. City Attorney Krishan Chopra presented the staff report and stated revisions to the written report following further review and receipt of additional information: 1) staff recommends the period in which tenants must notify their landlords of their inability to pay to be 3 days; and 2) staff recommends the period for tenants to pay back unpaid rent to be within 120 days. Assistant Community Development Director Wayne Chen and Karen Tiedemann, Goldfarb & Lipman LLP, provided additional information. Public Comment opened at 8:10 p.m. City Clerk Lisa Natusch read an email into the record from the following member of the public: Pam Lehner Public Comment closed at 8:10 p.m. MOTION - M/S - McAlister/Matichak - To: Adopt Ordinance 2.20, an Urgency Ordinance of the City of Mountain View Temporarily Suspending Evictions for Nonpayment of Rent by Residential Tenants Impacted by the COVID-19 Emergency, with the revisions as noted by the City Attorney. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Councilmember Matichak offered a friendly amendment to add at the bottom of page 3 that landlords could use the information provided by the tenant to support any sort of action they might want to take to have forbearance on their mortgage or try to postpone insurance premium payments. Councilmember McAlister accepted the friendly amendment. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Councilmember Matichak offered a friendly amendment to include at the end of Section 2(e) on page 4 that the repayment terms would be agreed to by the landlord and tenant, but if they do not come to an agreement, the default is that the tenant makes four equal payments over 120 days, spaced out equally. Councilmember McAlister accepted the friendly amendment. Following discussion, Councilmember Matichak modified her second friendly amendment to say that the landlord and the tenant need to have some sort of an agreement on what the repayment schedule will be, and to set the notification to the landlord at 3 days, but allow 14 days to provide documentation to the landlord. Council proceeded to discuss the modified friendly amendment. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Mayor Abe-Koga offered a friendly amendment to set the City of Mountain View Page 3 City Council MEETING MINUTES - Final 3/27/2020 notification of inability to pay at 7 and allow 14 days to provide documentation. Councilmember McAlister and Councilmember Matichak accepted the friendly amendment. Following further discussion, Councilmember McAlister modified the motion to include to strongly encourage tenants and landlords to come to a mutual agreement on a repayment plan. Councilmember Matichak accepted the modification to the motion. City Attorney Krishan Chopra stated the modifications included in the motion: modify Section 2(e) on page 4 to change the number of days to 120 days and to add a sentence at the end of Section 2(e) as follows: "Landlords and tenants are strongly encouraged to enter into a mutually agreeable repayment plan for past due rent;" modify Section 2(f) to reflect 120 days; modify page 3, Section 2(b), on the fourth line, to: 7 days after rent being due and within 14 days, to provide documentation evidencing the loss of income; and further modify Section 2(b) to include any documentation provided by the tenant to the landlord shall be kept in confidence except for landlord's use of such in any action related to mortgage forbearance or delays in insurance payments. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Yes: 7- Councilmember Clark, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Matichak, Councilmember McAlister, Councilmember Ramirez, Vice Mayor Kamei, Mayor Abe-Koga 6. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Abe-Koga adjourned the meeting at 9:09 p.m. City of Mountain View Page 4