National City had earthquake plan but not a flood plan

The county's 60-day ban on evictions and rent increases after historic flooding in January ends this month, while uncertainty lingers.

National City officials voted 3-2 last week to continue to rely on the existing county ordinance, rather than create local tenant protections that might include provisions such as relocation assistance and the right to return after repairs.

"It's clear the county's moratorium will end at the end of the month," said councilmember Jose Rodriguez, who urged the city to act now, given the low apartment vacancy rate.

Other council members wanted to hold off on an emergency ordinance, saying the city needs more information about what landlords need to rebuild, how long repairs will take, and whether the county might extend the moratorium.

"We can always call a special meeting and have an urgency ordinance," said mayor Ron Morrison.

According to city attorney Barry Schultz, the county ordinance doesn't address whether tenants must pay rent while not in their units or if they have a right to return without a rent hike. The displaced tenants have, however, been advised to keep paying rent to hold on to their rentals.

The industry trade group, California Apartment Association, opposed any new ordinance protecting tenants in National City — just as they did when the county imposed its ban on evictions and rent hikes for the hardest hit neighborhoods.

Spokesperson Melanie Woods said property owners should not have to pay relocation and temporary benefits after the disaster. "The vast majority of tenants have qualified for emergency aid. They don't need relocation assistance to find stable housing while their units are being repaired."

Property owners are making large, unexpected repairs, she added, often without collecting rent. The group also objects to the delay of rent increases, which typically occurs when signing new leases. Blocking that, she said, would just delay signing new leases.

"They're gonna push back until they can increase it to the desired amount. Tenants would be put on month-to-month leases until the rent cap is lifted, she said. "This short-term cap could actually result in less housing stability." 

To date, the county's emergency measure has provided temporary lodging to 770 families, according to Carlos Aguirre, the city's housing director. Both the state and National City declared a state of emergency, which helped bring funding to those who were flooded out of their homes.

Six weeks on, most of those families have been helped, Aguirre said. But in a city where, according to mayor Ron Morrison, there are almost zero vacancies — the end of the moratorium may not be a soft landing for all.

The city has now twice held back on enacting an emergency rent protection ordinance that would help renters if, say, apartment remodeling leads to big rent hikes.

According to the city attorney, there have been no evictions. Not that this was always clear as the disaster unfolded on January 22.

"Nearly 200 units were completely flooded, many of them tenants," said Rodriguez. The next day, as city crews assessed the damage, they realized a cluster of mobile homes and apartments by Division Street and the 7th Street channel were severely flooded. Apartment managers in the area said everything was fine, the tenants would be taken care of.

"Then what happened was, people were ghosted for two days." Twenty-four families had been given a two-day voucher, then were not contacted at all. When they finally were, on January 26, tenants of hard-hit Highland View apartments were told the repairs would take months, and they would have to seek new homes.

They received checks for two months' worth of rent. The county hadn't yet acted and, amid the confusion, dozens of families were facing eviction.

Mayor Morrison agreed there "really wasn't a plan." The city has an earthquake plan, he said. "But this one, there really wasn't a plan for there to be a flood in San Diego."