Elk Grove will again consider halting evictions tied to coronavirus, after community backlash
Fearing fallout from the coronavirus, California cities have halted evictions. But not in Elk Grove where city leaders have twice debated the issue and an emergency ordinance failed to gain enough support.
That changed Monday. City leaders faced a wave of criticism from residents, which included as many as 80 comments spoken or submitted in writing for a remotely held special meeting.
Local lawmakers will take up the temporary eviction ban again Wednesday during its regular meeting. Unlike before, the ordinance could pass with a simple majority instead of the supermajority required during emergency sessions.
The council first considered the ban at the suggestion of Mayor Steve Ly and the city manager days after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that would allow cities to protect residents from eviction if the economy sputters and people lose income.
The governor and public health officials have ordered residents to shelter in place unless their work is an “essential” function. Most restaurants, bars and other retailers business; schools, colleges and banks have all closed.
But the idea of offering protections to commercial and residential tenants drew more skepticism than concern from the city council and the emergency ordinance was voted down 4-1 last Wednesday.
“I saw this as a need the first time it came around. But other members, in fact, the rest of the members didn’t see that as worthy of support,” Ly said in an interview with The Bee. “The truth is that there are renters in the city of Elk Grove and we just can’t trust that all landlords will function in the best interest that everyone has a shelter.”
Renters in Elk Grove
Nearly a quarter of the 55,000 housing units in Elk Grove are occupied by renters, according to U.S. Census figures.
“It makes no sense at all to be evicting businesses and pushing people out of their homes during a pandemic,” said Amar Shergill, a resident. “We need to promote stability, increase folks’ ability to stay and work from home at a time when thousands of people in Elk Grove have incomes at risk.”
The moratorium on evictions doesn’t stop the proceeding outright; it allows residents to use the fallout from COVID-19 as a defense before a judge who will decide.
Meanwhile, most courts are on standby. Like most government functions, the Sacramento Superior Court was ordered to close except for limited “emergency matters.”
John Wallace, who owns and manages four strip centers in Elk Grove, said the shopping centers are at over 94 percent occupancy and he has been working with tenants to get at least some of the rent.
Wallace owes some debt on the properties. And he’s worried that if he can’t recoup at least half the rent he himself could slip into loan default. All of that factors into the conversations he’s having with tenants who may have watched their customer base slip away overnight.
“Of course, we’re looking at what we can live with, in paying loan and operating expenses,” Wallace said. “In 100 percent of the cases we’ve reached an excellent resolution with the tenants that we’ve gone to for some short-term reductions.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 11:52 AM.