Seattle City Council 5/11/2020

President of the Council, will the clerk please call the roll?

Councilmember Strauss?

Present.

Councilmember Herbold?

Councilmember Juarez?

Councilmember Lewis?

Present.

Councilmember Morales?

Here.

Councilmember Mosqueda?

Here.

Councilmember Peterson?

Here.

Councilmember Sawant?

Council President Gonzalez?

Here.

Seven present.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Next is presentations.

I am not aware of any presentations, so I'll move on to approval of the minutes.

The minutes of the City Council meeting of May 4th, 2020 have been reviewed.

If there is no objection, the minutes will be signed.

hearing no objection, the minutes are being signed, and I ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes.

Okay, adoption of the referral calendar.

I'm going to move to adopt the proposed introduction and referral calendar.

Second.

Okay, Council Member Esqueda, I understand that you have a proposed bill that you would like to move for introduction and referral to the city council that is not on the published introduction and referral calendar.

nor was it distributed by 5 p.m.

on Friday.

So before that motion can be made to amend the introduction referral calendar, the council rule relating to circulation of a bill for introduction will need to be suspended.

So if there is no objection, the council rule will be suspended to allow consideration of a bill for introduction and referral that was not distributed by 5 p.m.

on Friday.

Hearing no objection, the council rule is suspended and Council Member Mosqueda will proceed with proposing an amendment to the introduction and referral calendar.

Thank you, Council President.

I move to amend the proposed introduction and referral calendar by introducing Council Bill 119791, entitled An Ordinance Related to the City's Response to the 2020 COVID-19 Crisis, amending Ordinance 12600, which adopted the 2020 budget, changing appropriations of various departments and budget control levels, and from various funds in the budget, declaring an emergency and establishing an immediate effective date by a three-quarter vote of the council and by referring it to Seattle City Council.

Thank you.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Okay.

Are there any additional comments on the amendment?

Okay, hearing no additional comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the amendment?

Strauss?

Aye.

Herbold?

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Misqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

DeWant.

Aye.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Okay, the motion carries and the introduction and referral calendar is amended.

Are there any further comments on the introduction and referral calendar as amended?

Great, hearing no other comments, I would ask the clerk to please call the roll on the adoption of the introduction and referral calendar as amended.

Herboldt.

Aye.

Juarez.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

DeWant.

Aye.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

The introduction and referral calendar is adopted as amended.

Okay, we're going to go ahead and move into public comment.

And then again, colleagues, if you are not speaking and you haven't muted yet, I'd ask that you mute so that we don't hear ambient noise during public comment.

Thank you.

I will moderate the public comment period in the following manner.

The public comment period for this meeting is set at 20 minutes, and each speaker will be given one minute today as we have Large volume of individuals who have signed up for public comment, and then we want to make sure that we can hear from as many folks as possible.

So we will adjust the clock here.

That's up on the screen.

Each speaker again.

We'll have 1 minute.

to speak to us.

I will call on each speaker by name and in the order in which they registered on the council's website.

If you've not yet registered to speak but would like to, you can sign up before the end of public comment by going to the council's website at Seattle.gov.

The public comment link is also listed on today's published agenda.

Once I call a speaker's name, staff will unmute the appropriate microphone and an automatic prompt of you have been unmuted will be the speaker's cue that it is their turn to speak.

Please begin speaking by stating your name and reference the item that you are addressing.

Public comment should relate to an item on today's agenda.

the introduction and referral calendar, or the council's 2020 work program.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of the allotted time.

Once the speaker hears the chime, we ask that you begin to wrap up your comments.

If speakers do not end their comments at the end of the allotted time, again, in this case, it'll be one minute, then the speaker's microphone will be automatically muted to allow us to call on the next speaker.

Once you have completed your public comment, we ask that you please disconnect from the line and if you plan to continue following this meeting.

We ask that you do so via Seattle Channel or the listening options listed on our published agenda.

So once again, the public comment period is now going to be open, and I'm going to begin with the first person.

Again, 20 minutes takes us to 2.28.

So I am going to call on the first speaker, which is Emily MacArthur.

Hi, my name is Emily MacArthur.

I'm a District 2 resident and a renter, and I'm out front of City Hall with 25 other cars, a dozen bicyclists, and people on foot demanding that City Council reverse their decision to shamefully cancel the discussions on Taxamazon, the one especially that was supposed to happen this Wednesday, passing emergency funding related to this COVID emergency.

It's absolutely ridiculous, and I reject on every premise that somehow money that's related to COVID is not COVID-related legislation.

It's completely ridiculous and absurd, and this decision needs to be reversed immediately.

I think that there is a triple emergency that people are facing.

I know that my house is struggling to pay rent.

I know that my house is facing joblessness.

How about council members?

Are they facing these?

Are the billionaire backers who helped get our mayor elected facing this?

No, they're not.

That's who we should be taxing.

Okay, thank you.

We're going to move on to the next speaker, who is Marilyn Yim.

Hi, my name is Marilyn.

Hi, my name is Marilyn Yim, and I'm urging you to vote no on Council Bills 119.787 and 119.788.

Like many small landlords, we've already been working with our tenants to survive this crisis, offering rental payment plans, deferring rent payments, and removing late fees.

The payment plan bill does not anticipate this, and it will invalidate all of these agreements as soon as it's signed by the mayor.

We cannot carry the significant burden of waiting potentially 24 months to be made whole.

No small property owner can withstand going for a year without income while paying taxes, mortgage, utilities, repairs, maintenance, and other costs.

associated with the health, safety, and welfare of the residents in the community, which all continue to add up while rent goes unpaid.

Regarding the ban on eviction history and rental screening, people affected by COVID won't even have an eviction history through next spring.

There's no need to pass this legislation at this time when there are already protections in place.

This means that the only people who would be protected are those who electively chose not to pay their rent.

It is unfair to prevent enforcement of payment plans and nonpayment for financially able tenants who choose not to pay for their housing.

It's also questionable whether this can be considered legal during this emergency because it's not effective until after the emergency is over.

Please provide rental subsidy.

Thank you.

Okay, next up is Jennifer Lakish.

I'm concerned that the city council, good afternoon, city council members.

My name is Jennifer Leakish.

I'm concerned that the city council is using the pandemic shutdown as the means to implement dangerous housing laws that create open-ended relief of financial responsibility that no business can afford.

The Washington attorney general has said that during this time period, the city can only pass legislation that is necessary and routine, like paying bills or those that are needed to deal with the outbreak.

The City Council's proposed bills CB 119787 and CB 11978 are not necessary nor routine and are not needed to deal with the outbreak and so cannot be considered at this time.

Every new rule that City Council implements has a cost that is ultimately passed down to residents.

For example, universally banning evictions, implementing the first-in-time process, and now the proposed inability to screen tenants for prior addictions results in higher rent.

I urge you not to pass CB119787 and CB119788.

They are bad for tenants and bad for our city.

City Council should be working with housing providers instead of building barriers that prevent affordable rent.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Neil Wilson.

Independent housing provider.

Hi, my name's Neil Wilson.

I'm an independent housing provider with five units on Beacon Hill.

I testified last week asking the council to stop using inaccurate information to support legislation, whether it is misstating national rent collection numbers or writing a six-month eviction moratorium, knowing it is effectively a 12-month moratorium.

Seattle holds itself out as a progressive and innovative city.

However, since 2015, including today's bills, without input or consideration for property owners most impacted.

This is not progressive or innovative.

It is insular.

It reflects legislation without representation.

Once again, I ask you to please give independent landlords a voice at the table, along with the ever-present tenant advocates.

City leaders should be brainstorming new ideas and testing them against real data.

These bills aren't innovative policies.

These are old ideas that are only novel because of how drastically unfair they are to the regular citizens in the city.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you so much.

Our next speaker is William Shadbolt.

Yes, thank you very much.

My name is William Shadbolt and I'm a housing provider with a few rentals in Seattle.

I'm asking you to reconsider both of these anti-landlord ordinances today, items one and two.

My wife and I have already sold several rentals in the city of Seattle due to ordinances the city has already passed.

Every single one of them is no longer a rental.

The council is directly responsible for pushing up rents by reducing supply.

Council President Gonzalez wrote in a May 7th letter with the Attorney General's advice on what the council can pass and not pass.

This is neither routine and necessary, nor is it to deal with the outbreak when you've clearly got an eviction record from prior to the crisis that you're trying to ban, and banning late fees in 2021. In addition, eviction records are public records that the public has access to.

Forcing small landlady to pay eviction loans is clearly a government taking.

I'm simply asking you to uphold your oath of office not to break the U.S. and Washington Constitution by passing these two ordinances and stop doing things to force up rent.

Next up is Alicia Lewis.

Please start the timer.

Alicia Lewis.

Okay, we're gonna move along since we're, I don't hear her present, so we can go on to the next caller, please.

The next caller is Sujatha Romney.

Hello.

Good afternoon.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Okay.

Hi.

My name is Sujata.

I'm here to support the Tax Amazon initiative.

I have no words to express my angst and outrage of the machinations of council members Gonzalez and Herbold under pressure from big businesses to go and hide behind legalistic escapes instead of facing and addressing the issue at hand.

The Roman Emperor Nero was known to give grand fees to the who's who of Rome.

Fires would be lit, and the city's poor would be burnt at the stakes to illuminate the evening.

The historian Tacitus, while writing this, asks us to think not about Nero, but his guests, wondering what sort of intelligentsia it took to enjoy food, drink, and drama while each of their own went into flames.

You have a simple choice.

You either stand up and do what is right, or you go down in history as one of Nero's guests.

Thank you.

Next up is Jessica Scalzo.

Hi, thank you.

My name is Jessica Scalzo.

I am a renter in District 3 with Councilmember Sawant.

I am part of the tax Amazon movement, and I was sad to learn that there will be no vote on the legislation until maybe June.

I do think that this tax Amazon legislation is emergency related to COVID-19 because there is the provision for an inter fund loan to provide immediate cash assistance to at least 100,000 people who are struggling with this emergency.

And so I think at least we need to address that because people are struggling.

We all know that.

It seems like there's always an excuse not to tax big business.

It's never a good time, so I think we just need to do it.

Someone's going to have to pay for this crisis.

Big business has the money, so let's help people and utilize this resource.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Leslie, I think it's Hoag, and I apologize if I'm mispronouncing your last name.

Hi, thank you.

It's Hoagie.

My husband and I have a few rentals that we provide at below market rates, and we're asking you to vote no on bills 11977 and 788. Please focus on rental assistance, not on control of our leases.

We are already in close touch with our renters and are working with them.

Small-scale housing providers occupy a valuable niche in this city.

We're being treated like corporations who own thousands of units.

We know our tenants, we know their situations, and we're flexible to an extent.

We don't have deep reserves because our rents are low.

My husband and I offer discounts to our vulnerable tenants.

One whose business has been shuttered refused to take it, saying it's government's job, not ours, to cover this.

He managed to get an SBA loan to cover his expenses, but I worry for him taking on more debt.

I care about the people we rent to.

At an open house once, one prospective renter asked me, What's the catch?

I told him there was none, but he worried the apartment was too good to be true.

We're jeopardized by your regulations.

Please include us in your decision-making.

Small scale.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Maya Garfinkel.

Maya.

I'm Maya Garfinkel.

I'm an organizer with the tenant education organization, Be Seattle.

I'm boasting my support of CB 119787 and CB 119788. Renters know that greater housing security leads to healthier communities.

An eviction case on your record, even if unsuccessful, can follow you throughout your life as a renter and make it more difficult to find a new home.

Of those sampled in the Seattle Women's Commission losing home report, most evicted tenants became homeless.

37% were completely unsheltered.

25% were in a shelter, and another 25% were with family or friends.

This would escalate the current health crisis.

This bill would mitigate these effects and make it easier for evicted people to find new homes.

Additionally, 43% of those interviewed for the report had to leave Seattle as a result of their eviction.

If we do not take action, this crisis will push even more people out of our city, especially low-income people, especially women of color.

We have a duty to fight for our neighbors to stay in their homes and help them stay healthy.

Thank you very much.

Please vote yes on CB119787.

Thank you for calling in today, Maya.

Next up is Edmond Witter.

Hi, my name is Edmond Witter.

Hi, my name is Edmond Witter and I run the Housing Justice Project for the King County Bar Association and also a district re-renter.

I'm asking you to pass both CB 119787 and 119788. I want to thank Council President Gonzalez and Council Member Morales for their leadership on these bills.

The bills provide important protections to tenants who fall in the next few months due to circumstances beyond their control.

Right now there's not enough rental assistance for tenants who are falling behind and currently our largest program which is one that we co-administer with United Way home base is backlogged by 5,000 households on a waiting list and that was after we only kept the application process open for 48 hours.

Payment plans are necessary to make sure that tenants are going to be able to catch up on their rent in the event that we don't have any other means or other assistance available for them.

And also Council Member Morales' bill is extremely important.

I want to correct an inaccurate assertion that this is unnecessary in light of last week's ordinance, but this bill provides protections for tenants who are evicted for reasons other than rent and for perfectly benign reasons.

We see a lot of tenants on our hotline who are not able to move at the end.

Thank you, Edmund, for calling in.

Just a quick reminder for folks who are listening in and waiting for their turn.

on the public comment.

We're only doing one minute today because we have about 45 people signed up to give public testimony.

So so get your get your your your pencil sharpened and start editing your comments now.

So next up is Laura Lowe.

Hello Seattle City Council.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to speak today.

I've been a renter in District 7 since last April.

Before that a renter in the U-District since 2009. I'm speaking in favor of CB 119787 and CB 119788. I volunteer with an organizing collective Share the Cities.

We've hosted tenant rights events and we often hear the stories of renters who were already experiencing massive housing insecurity and because of that both physical and mental health struggles.

And now with this new level of housing emergency that's going to continue way beyond any expiration dates that we've talked about here, we really need these kinds of protections.

The council so far has indicated that you understand the deep power imbalance that exists between landlords and tenants.

And I applaud the city for not letting people who are not at risk of losing their primary residence to set the agenda.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for coming in today.

And next up, it looks like we have two folks on the same line.

So it's Reverend Angela Ying and Sister Anila Afzali.

Thank you.

Sister Anila Afzali and I, Reverend Angela Ying, with 72 faith leaders, urge you to please reconsider and adopt and pass the Sawant Morales Tax Amazon legislation now.

Our city is facing a triple emergency.

And when we have an emergency, We do not wait until we hope that the emergency is over because it just gets bigger.

We show real leadership and do everything in our power possible to help the hundreds of thousands of people.

Few if any city councils have had an opportunity to do so much good.

History will judge whether we as a city and city council in times of crisis took care of our most vulnerable and the working people.

Make our children and our children's children proud that we did everything possible rather than nothing.

Adopt and pass the tax Amazon legislation as is now.

Thank you and do the right thing.

Peace be with you.

Next up is John Wisdom.

Hello.

Hello.

Thank you.

I'm asking the council to think of small housing providers like myself who are speaking today as people who have financial needs and financial obligations just like you, the members of the council.

I would like you to try to imagine a scenario in which you would be asking a retiree like me who depends on rental income to potentially forego that income for six months or more for the benefit of someone who is gainfully employed and has the ability to pay.

The evictions ban and these ordinances under consideration today would do just that.

If you're going to go ahead and continue with legislation that threatens and sacrifices the security of my income, I'm asking that each of you pledge to make the same sacrifice for the duration of the evictions ban by donating your salaries to a rental assistance fund until the ban is over.

Will you make that pledge?

Thank you so much for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Leanne Stivers.

Stivers.

Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Leanne Stivers.

My husband and I are calling in to strongly ask you to oppose any and the landlord acts such as the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act co-sponsored by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

We're an older retired couple and we own a small four unit rental home in Seattle with an average unit rent of $1,300 per month.

We have no pension, so this rental income is, in effect, our retirement pension.

Canceling rent for all tenants, regardless of ability to pay, would leave us with extraordinarily high bills and no income to cover them.

Note that we are open to rent modification.

potentially, but currently we're paying annual Seattle City property taxes of $11,000 and growing by 12% per year and totaling over $35,000 annually for all the utilities, insurance, management fees, common area cleaning, maintenance, and repairs.

This doesn't include our mortgage.

Next up is Daniel Ojaldo.

Hi, this is Daniel Logelvo.

I'm a software engineer and I live in Seattle District 1. I'm here to speak in support of taxing Amazon and passing it as quickly as possible.

I think one of the big risks that has been put around is that jobs, quote unquote, will go away.

I just want to point out that I think that Seattle, we're in a unique position among other cities in the country, is that if you look at the stock prices of all of our major all of our major employers here, they've all gone more or less back to normal from the recent crash of a few months ago.

And that's a sign that there's going to be a lot of funds and a lot less risk to their companies.

And the other part of it is that these companies aren't going to move because there is a huge talent pool, myself included, who would rather work here in Seattle than work elsewhere.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Colleagues, we have quite a few more people who are signed up for public testimony.

I'm going to extend the public comment period, which is about to expire.

I'm going to extend it for an additional 20 minutes if there is no objection.

So that would take us to approximately 2.50 p.m.

Is there any objection?

Hearing and seeing no objection.

Public comment period will be extended until 2.50 p.m.

We will now hear next from Kate Rubin.

Hi I'm Kate.

Hi I'm Kate Rubin.

I'm the executive director of the Seattle Housing Justice and Family Education Organization and I'm calling in support of Council Bill 119787. This pandemic is especially scary for renters, many of whom are facing joblessness and will inevitably be facing eviction court upon the end of the moratorium.

This pandemic is unprecedented and a global crisis.

So we should be treating these evictions as a temporary problem rather than allowing them to have these permanent consequences.

Because an eviction case on your record, even if unsuccessful, even if you come to terms with your landlord outside of court, it can still follow you throughout your life as a renter.

We need to fight and protect our neighbors.

And so this means that we need to understand that this is temporary and should not be following renters throughout the course of their life.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for calling in today.

Next up is Nico Eblem Tabanda.

Good afternoon council members, my name is Niko Evans Amanda government affairs at the rental housing Association, Washington, I J has been a membership of over 5,000 housing providers, a less than $20 a month forms education and other resources designed to self manage property.

Even before the emergency orders on the Nixon's I J was one of the first published best business taxes for a late peaceful physical evictions and rent increases and the work of the church to create a new plan.

While we stand ready to work with stakeholders to develop policies to address the financial crisis being felt by both tenants and our members, we cannot support SB 119-787 and 788. This bill contains no nexus between tenants affected by a loss of income due to COVID-19 economic crisis and a need for installment plan protections.

Under the amended bill, rental payments could be paid in installments for up to one year after the emergency proclamation, no matter what the circumstances of the tenant not paying it.

No loss of income or who may not have lived in the state cannot choose to pay past due to the installment or neglect paid newly accruing rent owed.

Furthermore...

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Logan Swan.

Hi, my name is Logan Swan.

I'm a rank and file union iron worker.

Yeah, I just I'm calling it because I support the tax Amazon legislation.

And I think it's disgusting that the city council is trying to obstruct it.

Seattle was leading the nation in unemployment in the year prior to the pandemic.

And since the outbreak, it has continued to lead in unemployment.

I'm Like, how many emergencies do you need?

You've got an emergency with employment.

You've got an emergency in housing.

You've got a pandemic emergency.

All of these are emergencies.

And so to act as if, you know, this legislation doesn't, you know, isn't relevant to the current situation is incredibly dishonest and is just maneuvering.

Okay, thank you.

Our next speaker is Jacob Scheer.

Thank you.

My name is Jacob Scheer.

I'm currently laid off from my job as a bookseller at the Elliott Bay Book Company and I'm also a member of the newly formed Book Workers Union.

I am also a district floor renter and I'm calling on Councilmember Alex Peterson to immediately support and hold a vote for Councilmember Morales' and Sawant's tax Amazon legislation.

I'm calling on Alex Peterson to acknowledge the suffering of Seattle's working class during this crisis and to address it not with platitudes and legalistic maneuvering but with the exact type of action outlined in Councilmember Morales' and Sawant's tax Amazon bill.

Direct financial relief for working-class households impacted by COVID-19, immediate investment in social housing and protection for our houseless neighbors, and a commitment to creating thousands of unionized jobs in the wake of unprecedented unemployment.

While we've seen measures like temporary eviction moratoriums, none of the steps we've seen taken by our elected officials take into account that COVID-19 will be with us for years, both as a public health emergency and as a sustained economic crisis.

There can be no temporary measures.

We need the serious and long-term commitment to protecting working-class Seattle that TaxAmazon provides.

Alex Peterson, your choice is clear.

You can embrace the failed policies of inaction and austerity that will miserate the lives of the most vulnerable community members you represent, or you can stand with a...

Our next speaker is Dana Frank.

Hi, I'm Dana Frank and I'm a black woman that has been a housing provider for 35 years in the Central District.

Historically, no one cared about this neighborhood and we had to fight alone to provide quality, safe housing.

I've personally faced guns, gangs, drugs, robberies during my history as a housing provider.

And now that this area is gentrified, I feel this is being repackaged bigotry forced on me as a property owner.

From experience, I know one bad tenant can destroy a community, causing tens of thousands in damages and putting other residents at risk.

If the council passes these bills, you will continue to make it harder on the tenants you claim you are trying to help.

Housing providers will raise the bar and increase approval requirements.

If someone obviously on meth who has been evicted and a member of a gang appears with first month's rent, I would not put my other residents at risk.

The drug addiction problem on the street is not the housing provider's problem, and we should not be liable or forced to rent to previous evicted renters.

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Eva Metz.

Hi, my name is Eva Metz, and I'm a renter in District 2 and a member of Socialist Alternative, and I support the renter's rights bill that'll be voted on today from Council Member Morales and co-sponsored by Council Member Sawant.

I also wanted to speak to how shameful it is that the city's democratic establishment, led by council members Gonzalez and Herbold, is using the pandemic and the emergency from Inslee's order as cover to defend big business.

This is a completely disingenuous move.

Where were these concerns for legality or democracy back in 2018 when Gonzalez and Herbold and the rest of the establishment council members intentionally violated the Open Public Meetings Act to collude and repeal our first Amazon tax, and were forced to settle a lawsuit using our taxpayer money.

We haven't relied on the establishment to act, and we're organizing a third action conference this Saturday at 2 p.m.

on Zoom.

I want to invite supporters to come and discuss the way forward for our ballot initiative to tax Amazon.

Okay, our next speaker is John Priesler.

Is John available?

Okay, it doesn't look like John is available.

So we're going to move to Daniel Swanson.

I work at a small business.

Hello, my name is Daniel and I work at a small business in District 4 and I'm here speaking in support of the tax Amazon legislation.

It's been long overdue that we invest in the working class in Seattle immediately and looking into the future.

With the taxed Amazon legislation we have the chance to do both.

We have a historic opportunity to generate immediate aid for the families struggling most with the COVID crisis.

Create 34,000 new jobs over the course of the next decade and begin funding a green new deal for Seattle.

Instead it seems that council members Herbold and Gonzalez are taking a historic opportunity to fail the working class of Seattle not once but twice in their attempts to deny Seattle the progressive taxation measures it needs in order to bring true relief to the working class.

We are facing a triple emergency a pandemic a housing crisis and a recession.

Our city's unemployment skyrockets while U.S. billionaire wealth has increased by $282 billion.

Now is the time to pass bold legislation like tax Amazon.

Now is not the time to capitulate to big business interests.

I urge the Seattle.

I urge the Seattle Council to reconsider postponing and I urge anyone listening to get involved with the tax Amazon campaign because our fight does not end with this council decision.

Next speaker is Brendan McGovern.

Hello, this is Brendan.

I'm a resident of District 4. I'm a renter.

I'm outside here with the car caravan protest to tax Amazon because it is shameful what the council has done to delay the emergency legislation.

Back in 2018 when they were when they repealed behind closed doors, who voted to repeal the head tax, that wasn't really a whole lot of democracy then either.

There was there.

And so, you know, these excuses that they are citing to that, you know, they can't do democracy or that they can't, that this isn't somehow emergency legislation is complete baloney.

And I really urge them to reconsider.

Thank you.

I'm an activist to attack the Amazon movement.

Okay, our next speaker is going to be Daniel Lane.

Hi, I'm a student in District 4. I'm a part of the Tax Amazon movement.

I'll start by saying that I support the tenant advocates on the call today and propose tenant protections like CD 119787 being discussed today.

I'm primarily calling in to express my extreme disappointment at the Council, particularly Council Members Herbold and Gonzalez for deciding to cancel discussions on the payroll tax sponsored by Council Members Sala and Morales.

I think Rick Smith put it quite well in The Stranger that the concerns about the Open Public Meetings Act feel like a shallow government transparency argument being used as political cover for the members who don't want to tax big business.

We know that council members Herbold and Gonzalez voted to repeal the head tax in 2018, and it is hard to take the council's supposed concern for the OPMA seriously when they were sued for violating that same act in discussing the repeal of the head tax in 2018, and didn't use taxpayer dollars to pay a settlement for that lawsuit.

TaxAmazon movement will continue to fight for progressive taxation in Seattle through our ballot initiative, and we continue our call on city council and the state government to allow online signatures for ballot and candidate initiatives.

Thank you.

Next up is Hannah Swoboda.

Hi, my name is Hannah Swoboda.

I'm a renter and a part of the tax Amazon movement.

And I think that we urgently need this to want Morales Amazon tax legislation to be passed without watering it down at all.

It's frankly ridiculous that the council has decided to discontinue its meetings on this bill.

Like many have said, we're facing a crisis not only of public health, but of housing and of jobs.

We need a solution to this that brings in progressive tax revenue from the largest corporations that have not been paying their fair share.

It's really the bare minimum that we levy this tax on large corporations operating in Seattle to fund relief for Seattleites and to begin to address the wider crises of unaffordability in the city that will only continue to be exacerbated by the current recession.

To not open up this new source of tax revenue means that any relief that is offered to the crisis will be coming from further austerity down the line, by which I mean cuts to vital programs.

We can't let the working class of Seattle pay for this crisis.

We need to tax big business.

I also want to say that I support the Renter's Rights Bill that the Council is voting on today from Councilmember Morales and co-sponsored by Councilmember Sawant.

Okay, next up is Aiden Nardone.

Hello, my name is Aidan Ardone and I'm speaking about Council Bill 119788. A few months ago, when the City Council passed the winter eviction legislation and the rental assistance program that came with that, the mom and pop landlords were the ones that spoke up and talked about the dangers and the pitfalls.

If they can't collect rent, they can't maintain safe buildings.

You're back again with new legislation, and the mom and pops come back again and talk about the same dangers.

Where are the public housing providers?

Where's DESC?

Where's Lehigh?

Where's Compass?

Where's the Office of Housing?

What are you people afraid of?

Why won't you speak up?

You risk the same dangers.

Thank you.

Our next person is Grayson Van Arsdale.

Hi.

Hi, I'm Grayson.

I'm a renter.

I'm speaking on the need to attack Amazon and big business for COVID relief, social housing, green jobs.

I also support the renter rights bill from Morales, co-sponsored by SAWANT.

And I'm really disappointed and upset at the decision of the council to cancel these meetings going forward during the pandemic using the Open Public Meetings Act.

In many ways, these meetings are far more democratically available than they ever have been before over Zoom.

and I find it a horrific abdication of your responsibility to refuse to even vote on the legislation that could, frankly, save the lives of thousands.

Instead, this decision will allow the pandemic to drastically exacerbate the crisis of affordability that was already pushing working people out of Seattle before COVID-19.

It's the City Council's job to respond to this emergency.

Working people already know what will happen if big business isn't forced to pay their fair share to get us through the crisis.

We workers and renters will be asked to swallow an austerity budget instead, with raised taxes and cuts on public services.

And the caravan that's at City Hall right now shows that that's an unacceptable answer.

Talk to Amazon and Big Business, who can more than afford it, and do your jobs and give us a vote.

The next speaker is Yvonne Hubbard.

Hello, my name is Yvonne Hubbard.

I'm a Seattle native and a renter.

And before COVID-19, I worked over 40 hours to support my family and I was still low income.

So Seattle hasn't been affordable.

And I've seen Seattle over the years gain wealth and many families have been pushed out of their homes and their neighborhoods and their communities.

And I just want to remind you that we are all in this together and that this is not a handout.

this is a way to help keep families from becoming homeless.

Some of them are now laid off and waiting for unemployment, whether financial needs go up.

You can help keep families on their feet from becoming homeless, requiring landlords to offer new leases will prevent discrimination.

It's hard to find housing after you're evicted.

I also ask you to think of students.

There's data out there that shows that children who experience significant on homelessness and stability have significant, aren't doing as well as their peers.

And also I want you to think of a way to figure out how to support landlords so that they can.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sabrina Argyle.

Good afternoon.

This is Sabrina Argyle.

I'm a renter in King County.

I'm addressing item CB 119788. It's important at this time that we're going through that all renters regardless of their income or lack thereof during this pandemic have a safe home.

Allowing renters a year to make payment plans to their landlords without worry of their credit being affected is truly important.

Landlords and rental corporations need to offer new leases to prevent any discrimination.

Housing is hard enough in Seattle but due to this pandemic of no one's creation the worry of losing one's home shouldn't need to weigh on any person's mind.

I would also hope that at some point the council weighs in on those leases that would expire at the end of some new phase.

Many families will be displaced due to their rental homes being bought by developers and demolished to create million-dollar townhomes and condos.

New leases should be offered and no one should be displaced due to multimillion dollar projects.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next person signed up to speak is Carolyn Riley Payne.

Good afternoon, council members.

I'm Carolyn Riley Payne, the president of the Seattle King County branch of the NAACP.

The Seattle King County NAACP opposes the city of Seattle and Department of Justice motion to release the police from remaining consent decree oversight.

The NAACP Seattle-King County will work in collaboration with the Office of Councilmember Sawant and other community organizations to respond in opposition to the City of Seattle and Mayor Jenny Durkan's collaboration with the Trump Justice Department.

The SPD should not be released from oversight while the police union contract rejects accountability measures.

Accountability failings in the Seattle Police Officer Guild contract mean court-mandated oversight is still very much necessary.

The SPOG contract appeal process evident in the case of Officer Shepard in 2014 tells us that it is still very much needed.

The city has yet to address the mechanisms in the police union contract that allow for officers like Shepard

Thank you.

The next person up to speak is Gina Owens.

Hello, this is Gina Owens.

I'm a member of Washington Community Action Network, and I'm here today to talk about the payment plans 119762. I am asking for people to remember that people are losing jobs and their income through no fault of their own during this COVID pandemic.

Payment plans are essential and I'm asking that the council consider extending a one year after pandemic lifted for time for people to recover and rebuild for the payment plans.

We aren't asking not to pay rent We're only saying that landlords will get their money in installment plans, so it's not like they won't get paid.

Payment plans help prevent landlords from being able to report that, like mine, to collections, resulting in unnecessary judgments on renters facing a...

Thank you, Gina, for calling in.

Next up is Coco Weber.

Hello.

And thank you for listening to me.

I am a resident of District 4 and a Seattle resident of 16 years in which time I have been a student at UW a volunteer in King County Correctional Facility a counselor at a community mental health clinic a teacher and an artist.

I'm currently in an art collective for women non-binary and trans folks entering women of color and I've seen friends move into their cars turn to friends' couches or be forced to leave the city.

It's more often than not.

the not, it's my LGBTQ friends, black and brown women of color who are being pushed out.

This city has a racist housing history and to not protect renters in this vulnerable time will continue that legacy.

Beyond payment plans, we need rent relief.

I strongly urge you to reconsider putting the tax Amazon bill on the table.

We also need safeguards so that after this crisis, We will not just be punished for having asked for relief.

We need to be sure that we can renew our leases.

We need to make sure that folks have a safeguard in place so they're able to continue living in the city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Maya Ramakrishnan.

Hey, my name is Maya Ramakrishnan.

Hi, my name is Maya Ramakrishnan.

I am a renter in District 4 and a student at UW.

I'm calling in support of CB 119, 787, and 788. I'm concerned about the way eviction records are likely to make it very difficult for folks to get back on their feet and back into housing.

In this city, we were already in a housing crisis before COVID-19, and now we have a special responsibility to make sure that our most vulnerable community members are able to stay safe and housed during this really unprecedented time.

Thanks.

Thank you so much.

Next up is Sheree Lynn Lascelles.

Thank you for this time.

My name is Sheree Lascelles and I am an almost 10 year renter in the District 4 in the E-District.

Thank you for the opportunity to make public comment.

calling in support of CB 119787 and CB 119788, as well as urging council to seek additional material support for rental assistance and vital programming, starting with reopening discussions on taxing big business.

If we don't create legislation to prevent back rent evictions that are certain to occur due to losses of income related to COVID-19, and work to regulate how landlords provide tenants behind in rent accessible repayment terms, unnecessary harm will be caused to our community members.

I have lived in Seattle for nine years, 10 months, 11 days.

I live in the same house as I did the first day I moved to Seattle.

If my back rent became due today, I wouldn't be in one of these circumstances.

I think that the assumption that renters don't have deep ties to Seattle and their displacement won't cause direct negative reverberations to the community is absent.

I also think that it's not the case, and our households being displaced will make it so we cause more

Thank you so much for calling in today.

The next person on our list is Joelle Craft.

Hello and thank you council members for taking my call.

My name is Joelle Craft and I am calling regarding Council Bill 119788. I have lived in Washington State my entire life and I have been a homeowner and also a renter and I'm asking you to pass this bill because Payment plans are going to prevent evictions and requiring landlords to offer new leases will prevent discrimination and people having to leave their homes.

And now we know people can't leave their homes.

It's not safe.

Payment plans will also prevent the landlords from being able to report debt to collections, as we heard another speaker talk.

And it gives the tenant more time to get back on their feet and be able to stay in their home.

Right now, and as you know, anywhere, it is hard to find a new place once evicted.

It is like a bankruptcy on your credit and it stays forever.

It seems like it.

Also, this contributes to our homelessness problem if we don't keep people housed.

So thank you very much.

Please pass CB 119788. And thank you, council members, for taking my call.

Thank you so much, colleagues.

We have now heard public testimony for about 40 minutes.

So I'm going to go ahead and close out the period of public comment and begin our agenda.

I do apologize to those who I called in and we're waiting, but we didn't get a chance to get to, but we do have several items of business on the agenda and we've been going again for 40 minutes.

So I'm going to go ahead and close out the period of public comment and we'll go ahead and move to the payment of the bills.

If the clerk would please read the title into the record.

Council Bill 119789. Appropriate amount to pay salary claims for the week of April 27th, 2020 through May 1st, 2020, and ordering payment thereof.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to pass Council Bill 119789. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded that the bill pass.

Are there any comments?

Hearing no comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Aye.

Herbold?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Lewis?

Aye.

Morales?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

DeWant?

Aye.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it and I ask that the clerk affix my signature to the legislation.

Committee reports, will the clerk please read agenda item one, the short title into the record.

Agenda item one, Council Bill 119787, relating to the use of eviction records, regulating the use of eviction history in residential housing, prohibiting landlords from considering evictions related to COVID-19 during and after the civil emergency.

Thank you, Madam Corporate.

Again, Council members, if you are not speaking and you're on the call, please double check to make sure that you are muted so that we don't hear ambient noise in the background.

So I'm going to go ahead and move to pass Council Bill 119787. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to pass the bill.

Council Member Morales, you're the sponsor of this bill and I'm gonna go ahead and hand it over to you for remarks.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, colleagues.

We've all been talking for weeks and weeks now about the crisis that is COVID-19, and we know that hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians have filed for unemployment.

A growing number can't afford the basics like food or rent, and many tens of thousands of them are right here in Seattle.

And we know that the specter of this crisis, one that none of us could have predicted, shouldn't haunt people for the rest of their lives.

And so this legislation would do two things to make sure that that doesn't happen.

The first is that it bars landlords from denying housing to tenants who faced an eviction during the mayor's emergency and for six months following that.

I do want to be clear that this excludes evictions that would result from the threat to the health or safety of neighbors, the landlord, or tenant or landlord's household members.

So we've had several people call in expressing concern about that and want to make sure that that is addressed.

those kinds of evictions are excluded.

The second thing is that it provides a cause for order of limited dissemination, which would hide an eviction from a tenant's screening, from tenant screening companies.

And that's something that we know is important to keep people from losing housing options, especially due to the economic shock of the mass unemployment that we have.

We know that when the moratoriums end, people will still be out of work.

This isn't going to get better overnight.

And so what we're really trying to do here is just make sure that we are protecting people long term until people are able to get back on their feet.

And we know that these evictions and unlawful detainers can follow people around.

It might be cleared from your credit report for seven years, but all a screening company has to do is look that up in the Superior Court website and can still be found.

So this is really an attempt to make sure that we are protecting folks who are in financial crisis during this episode and make sure that they have that protection long-term.

I'm happy to answer questions.

So Council Member Morales, I know that you have an amendment that you'd like for us to consider.

So I'd like to go ahead and ask that you put your amendment on the table and then we can consider the amendment and then we can open it up for dialogue on the bill as amended.

Okay, so I moved to amend Council Bill 119787 as presented on Amendment 1 on the agenda.

Is there a second?

Second.

Okay, it's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on amendment one.

Council Member Morales, please feel free to address the amendment.

Sure.

So this is really just cleans up the title of this bill.

So it makes the original language of the section title more accurate and conforms the new texts regarding, well, sorry, that's amendment two.

So the first amendment is really just a technical amendment to clean up the language.

Great, are there any questions or comments on Amendment 1, which has just been described by Council Member Morales as a technical clean-up amendment?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment 1?

Strauss?

Aye.

Herbold?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Lewis?

Aye.

Morales?

Aye.

Misqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

DeWant?

Aye.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and the amendment is adopted.

Council Member Morales, I know you have a second amendment, so I'm going to go ahead and pass it over to you to make that motion.

Okay, I move that we amend Council Bill 119787 as presented on Amendment 2 on the agenda.

Is there a second?

It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on Amendment 2. Council Member Morales, as sponsor of the amendment, please feel free to address it.

So this amendment adds a rebuttal presumption in favor of a tenant if a landlord does see the eviction information and takes an adverse action against the tenant as a result of that information.

Okay, colleagues, any questions or comments on Amendment 2?

Okay, looks like there are no questions or comments, so I will ask that the clerk please call the roll on adoption of Amendment 2. Strauss?

Aye.

Herbold?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Mesqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

No.

Sawant.

Aye.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Thank you so much.

The motion carries and the amendment is adopted.

I believe that is the end of the amendments that I'm aware of.

So now would be a good time, colleagues, if there are any comments on the bill as amended.

Now is the time to make those comments.

I see Council Member Salant.

The floor is yours.

Thank you president Gonzalez.

I'm happy to support this legislation from Councilmember Morales and happy to have co-sponsored it.

Background checks are set up to be extremely unfair to renters as we heard from some renters in the public comment.

For example, if you're taken to eviction court unfairly and The judge rules that there is no reason to evict you.

Maybe it was blatant discrimination.

Maybe there was no just cause.

Regardless, it still gets included in your rental history as having been taken to eviction court, and it can become extremely difficult to get housing as a result, and it follows you throughout your life.

Renters can appeal to have these false evictions removed from their rental history, but must do so with each and every background check company.

Ideally, King County Court would refuse to give out eviction records to background check companies unless those evictions were approved by the judge, but the city does not control King County Court, so this legislation instructs landlords that they must not use eviction records during this emergency against renters.

They shouldn't anyway because evictions are being prohibited during this emergency, but as I said, the background records exist whether the court evicts the renter or not.

Obviously, there will be difficulties with enforcement and ultimately what Seattle needs is a portable background check methodology so renters can correct false eviction records on their background check and then future landlords are required to use that background check.

But in the meantime, I'm happy to vote yes on this emergency legislation.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

I see Council Member Strauss.

And again, if for anybody else who wants to speak, if you can raise your hand, I will put you in the queue.

Council Member Strauss, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President.

I'll just take this opportunity once again to reiterate my strong support for increasing the amount of rental assistance that we can provide people in our community because When we're able to invest in rental assistance, we're able to keep people in place and keep everyone in the economic chain made full.

And so again, just reiterating, I'll be voting for this legislation and that we also need to follow up with additional rental assistance.

Thank you.

I thank you so much, customer restores for that important reminder.

We've, of course, added already added some millions of dollars for rental assistance.

certainly not implying that that is going to meet the scale of the need, but we will continue to make sure that we're advocating for those dollars.

Excellent point.

Okay, Councilmember Peterson is next in the queue, and I haven't seen anybody else raise their hand, so if you want to, now's the time.

Councilmember Peterson, the floor is yours.

Thank you.

I'd like to thank the sponsor of this bill, Councilmember Morales, and for the hard work of her staff and Council Central staff I believe it's important to point out to the general public this bill has very good intentions.

It was just that it was introduced only seven days ago.

I believe that's not enough time to consider all the ramifications of this legislation.

It would also be in effect for what's really an unknown period of time because we don't know when the mayor will end her emergency declaration.

So I'm proud to have joined my council colleagues on several or a couple of eviction prevention measures, the winter eviction moratorium, and then recently last week, just last week, to restrict, to allow the extra defense for six months after the mayor's eviction moratorium ends.

And that's an important point.

So the legislation we passed last week was for six months after the mayor's eviction moratorium ends, This legislation before us, however, would be six months after the emergency declaration.

We do not know when the emergency declaration will end.

It's possible that it could go on for more than a year.

The reason is that it's likely the mayor will keep that in place longer than her eviction moratorium.

because the emergency declaration will enable us to get reimbursed by the federal government for a longer period of time.

So I'm uncomfortable also in invoking the city charter's legislative emergency clause where it says it's necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.

I think this is something that we could do in the next couple of weeks or more if we thought it through even further and had more data about what the situation is going to be for tenants, for the relief packages, and when the emergency declaration will actually end.

But again, I want to thank my I would like to thank our colleague for introducing this and for her staff being available to answer our questions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I want to also join my colleagues on the council in thanking Councilman Morales for bringing forward this piece of legislation.

I think it's really important to realize that the use of eviction history as an indicator of good tenancy is controversial, but under normal circumstances, it is premised on the belief of how tenants behave under normal or non-pandemic conditions.

But as we all have recognized here, in the context of the current emergency, tenants are facing unprecedented circumstances, and how they balance their financial obligations in these unprecedented times are not a good indicator of whether or not they are going to be a good tenant.

There was some comment on behalf of public testimony earlier questioning whether or not this legislation had received the OPMA law department review.

I'm happy to report that it has.

And I find that the analysis without divulging the analysis is reassuring on our ability to move this forward, this legislation forward.

I also want to recognize that there were some amendments that were being considered earlier on that would have been sort of cleanup amendments.

unrelated to the crisis and that the amendment sponsors agreed to withdraw those, you know, really housekeeping cleanup amendments because those amendments themselves were not related to the COVID-19 crisis.

And then finally, I think it's really important to understand in practice how these orders of limited dissemination actually work, and that's why this bill itself has two parts.

It, on one hand, notifies the courts what we hope they will do when there are requests for limited dissemination orders.

That is the ability of eviction records to show up on people's tenant screening reports.

And this has as a sort of a fallback the prohibition on the part of landlords in using this information.

And the reason why that's so necessary is because the practice of courts in making decisions around limited dissemination orders has really been inconsistent and there hasn't been an appellate case on this.

courts aren't consistent on it.

And specifically, it's important to recognize that the entire right to ask for a limited dissemination order and the obligation of the courts to consider it is a discretionary decision on the part of the judges.

And so that's why I think this piece of legislation hangs well together with its two parts, as well as in coordination with the legislation that we are going to be hearing next, as well as the tenants' rights legislation we passed last week.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Herbold.

Next is Councilmember Lewis.

Thank you, Madam President.

So I'm just going to start my comments by saying I will be voting for this legislation today and want to thank Councilmember Morales for bringing this forward.

You know, I think it is important that renters who are going to be coming out of this COVID-19 crisis not be in a position where having an otherwise good record as a tenant is blemished by something that may or may not happen.

with their ability to pay rent during this period and a possible eviction proceeding being brought.

So I think it is important legislation and I do look forward to voting for it.

I wanted to just take a moment to more use my comments to just do like a broader call to action to landlords and tenant rights advocates alike who tuned into this today.

And I appreciate their public comment.

I just wanted to say that You know, our council remains committed, as Council Member Strauss indicated a little earlier in our session, to providing robust, comprehensive, and expansive rent support that will ultimately let tenants stay in place, that will make landlords whole and let them pay their bills and pay their mortgages.

We are committed to realizing that, and as Council President Gonzalez indicated earlier, we have invested millions of dollars above and beyond what we had budgeted for initially in rental assistance and support.

Congress, according to my conversations with our congressional delegation, is considering potentially another round of federal stimulus and federal investment.

I would just like to shout out to all the landlords and tenants who have called in to do advocacy on this.

Make sure that you are reaching out to your member of Congress, to your senators, to push to make sure that a wide scale rent relief or some kind of direct payment plan to people is part of that next level of federal relief.

All of us recognize that that is ultimately what we need to do to get through this.

But in the meantime, there need to be certain protections to make sure that renters are not unduly burdened by things that happen during this event.

of great depression level proportions.

And these are not regulations or hindrances that we as a council are enacting idly.

We're doing it in response to an unprecedented, since the time of the 1930s, levels of unemployment and insecurity.

So join me in making sure that we are going to Congress and saying, you know, we need a large scale relief in this next package that should be coming out later this spring to make sure that renters and landlords alike get the support that they need to get through this.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

Colleagues, any other comments or questions on the bill?

Okay, seeing none, Council Member Morales, as we usually practice here on council, the prime sponsor of the bill usually gets the last word, so the floor is yours.

Thank you.

Thanks, everyone.

I want to thank you, Council Member Lewis.

I think your last remarks are really important for all of us to remember.

This is an unprecedented crisis.

We are seeing levels of unemployment, a scale of crisis that we haven't seen in a couple of generations now.

So we know that more rental assistance is important.

As Council Member Lewis said, there is a lot of federal action that's needed.

Our own Representative Jayapal is also advocating for payment protection, paycheck protection for all workers so that they can cover their bills.

So we do need to keep advocating at every jurisdictional level to make sure that every city, state, and federal government is doing all that they can to keep our community safe.

I do want to also say that as Councilmember Herbold mentioned, we had a discussion about a few different kinds of amendments.

You know, the idea of excluding small landlords is something that we talked about, but it's what we're really doing here is trying to protect people from being evicted and having that stain on their record.

And when you've lost your job, when you really just can't afford rent, it doesn't matter if your landlord is your roommate in a single family home and you're just renting a room from them, or if your landlord is a big property management company, the fact is that you don't have money to pay rent, and so you deserve that same protection regardless of the size of, you know, ownership of your landlord.

So I want to thank our colleagues for the conversations we've been having over the last few weeks.

I appreciate your feedback and your willingness to talk through these, your concerns with us, and appreciate your support now as we do, as we take one more step to make sure that renters in the city are protected.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Council Member Morales for those remarks.

I think that concludes debate on this particular item.

So I'm going to go ahead and ask that the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended.

Council Member Strauss.

Aye.

Council Member Herbold.

Aye.

Council Member Juarez.

Aye.

Council Member Lewis.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

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Okay, folks, we're going to go ahead and move along items of business today.

So will the clerk please read item two into the record?

Madam Clerk, you might be on mute.

Agenda item two, Council Bill 119788, an ordinance relating to residential rental agreements allowing residential tenants to pay rent in installments when the tenant is unable to timely pay rent, declaring an emergency, and establishing an immediate effective date, all by a three-quarter vote of the City Council.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I will move to pass Council Bill 119788. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to pass the bill.

This is a bill that I have sponsored and so I'm gonna make a few comments about it in advance and then I'll go ahead and open it up for for additional comments.

So colleagues, today we have this bill before us to ensure more flexibility and time for more households that may need to stay housed, that will definitely need to stay housed as we enter week 11 of this public health emergency.

We know that many of our constituents have found themselves laid off.

furloughed or with a loss of income, and are still waiting for unemployment benefits to cover household expenses.

And we are still waiting for other forms of relief and aid, such as the CARES Act, to provide cash and rental assistance to tenants and small landlords.

This bill will enable more households to enter into payments with their landlords.

And I want to take a moment to acknowledge the landlords who already have this practice in place with their tenants.

It is considered the industry's best practice, and many good landlords are engaging in that behavior, but there are many that are not.

So this best practice, again, is to voluntarily enter into these payment plans We want to ensure that the greatest number of tenants have access to this best practice and that this legislation ultimately will mandate that they participate in that best practice.

Additionally, this bill would prohibit late fees, interest, or other charges that are associated with late payment of rent.

This would apply throughout the course of the civil emergency and for six months after the mayor declares the public health crisis to be over.

Governor Inslee's extended and expanded evictions order contains similar protection around late fees, and I believe this bill complement protections for renters in the governor's and mayor's moratoriums.

I want to thank the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection, the King County Bar Association's Housing Justice Project, Washington CAN, and the Washington Multifamily Housing Association, which represents landlords and other property owners, for their feedback and insights in the development of this legislation for something that is very straightforward, simple, and will allow tenants the flexibility they need to stay in their homes in the event that they fall behind on the rent.

This is a common sense solution to just create a pathway for tenants and landlords to come to an agreement that is mutually beneficial to both of them, that will promote housing stability, and that will ultimately create an opportunity for people to stay in place for as long as possible.

I was pleased that when I had an opportunity to talk to the governor's office about this legislation, that they implemented a similar effort statewide.

And I think that it is important for us to now follow up on that particular route and do the same right here in the city of Seattle.

would appreciate your all support of this particular bill.

I just think it's so important and creates sort of a really rich ecosystem for renters who are really seeking a little bit more time and a lot more assistance to be able to stay housed.

So with that being said, I'm happy to open it up to colleagues if there are any comments on the bill.

Council Member Herbold, followed by Council Member Peterson.

Thank you.

I want to thank Council President Gonzalez for putting this forward.

I want to thank her as well for her collaboration in developing this legislation, collaboration that led to some unfortunate delays, but I appreciate your doing so.

Some of the changes in this new version relate specifically to modify the reason for which a tenant can use the payment plan.

that required a title change and a requirement to reintroduce it.

And this was really important because it'd be very difficult to ask a judge to make a determination whether or not a non-payment of rent eviction is the result of COVID-19.

making this change in the ordinance lifts that barrier for the courts and helps tenants in doing so.

But again, that required the patience of the bill sponsor in order to do so.

And as our council president is always very patient with us, again, much appreciated.

So I wanna thank her for other elements that were included in the substitute.

specifically related to late fees and attorney's fees and court costs.

That is very, very helpful.

And I just want to underscore some of the comments that the sponsor already made related to this just being a common sense path between an eviction moratorium, where people don't have anything to do if they're short on rent, but not pay rent, and paying the full rent.

Mayor proposed her eviction moratorium in the FAQ, the frequently answered questions.

One of the pieces of guidance for tenants when they don't have enough money to pay is to encourage tenants to work on developing a payment plan for partial payments in order to reduce the amount of money owed at the end of the moratorium.

This puts into ordinance, into policy, a way to do that.

And again, I think it's just a really common sense approach.

that we are not going to be able to do that.

we are going to be expressing our expectations that landlords should accept partial payments because it is good both for landlords and it is good for tenants as well.

thanks again.

appreciate your partnership on this bill as well.

to your staff and to the council central staff for their hard work on this bill.

We had plenty of notice to think about this one, so we appreciate that.

Did have some concerns and questions.

Just want to confirm for the record that if there is a rental agreement, a payment plan in effect between a tenant and a landlord that's fully executed already, Would this legislation preempt that or supersede that, or would it still be in place?

This isn't designed to preempt anything.

It would sort of provide a minimal floor.

So if the existing agreement between the landlord and tenant is stricter or harsher, for example, than what the ordinance, or I should say, you know, not as beneficial to the tenant as the ordinance, then the ordinance would come into effect.

Oh, okay.

All right.

I did not know that.

I thought that if there was a written agreement already in place that this would not supersede it, but it sounds like it would if it's not as beneficial for the tenant.

So according to council central staff, it would not, again, it does not preempt existing agreements.

Oh, okay.

Okay.

Thank you.

And just wanted to better understand, I know in my remarks for the previous bill, my concern is that we don't know when the mayor's emergency declaration will end.

Your previous bill was six months after the eviction moratorium, whereas this is six months after the emergency declaration.

And since that may go on for a long period of time, I just, I didn't know if it would help for the public and for me to understand why that different starting point in the legislation.

Well, I think it's just, as you mentioned, it's sort of these things are not done with precision and it's a little unclear to us when exactly the moratorium is going to end.

I acknowledge that that creates some uncertainty, but the reality is that the financial crisis or the you know, opportunity to enter into a mutually beneficial rental agreement is, I think, a valid policy priority regardless of the timing.

So, again, you know, I think originally we thought about, you know, sort of starting that point somewhere else, but I think at this juncture, you know, it makes most sense to allow the greatest possible period of time for landlords and tenants to enter into a mutually beneficial agreement to allow for landlords to get their rent and for renters to pay their rent and avoid eviction.

So again, as Council Member Herbold so artfully described, this is really that middle ground area.

So we have extremes in the landlord-tenant law right now.

We have one extreme is eviction, you lose your housing The other option is don't pay your rent.

And we're trying to create a pathway forward here in the middle that says, look, we wanna, for those landlords and tenants who agree that rent needs to be paid, and I believe that's a vast majority of folks, we need to be able to create an opportunity for them to come up with a pathway to do so.

And so this codifies that intent and that opportunity for landlords and tenants to agree with each other about what that rental repayment plan is going to look like.

Thank you.

Colleagues, any other questions or comments?

Okay.

So I'm going to go ahead and close out debate.

I really do appreciate the ongoing attention in this area.

And again, I said this during Council briefing, but I want to say it again now.

I really want to thank Asha from Council Central staff and V from my office for being stellar on this policy issue.

really working hard to make sure that as pieces were moving at the state related to the governor's proclamation about a rental payment plan statewide and our version of the bill that we weren't sort of running into areas of conflict potentially.

Also really want to thank the executive for their support in moving in this direction as well and have been grateful for their cooperation.

on understanding the enforcement issues that would be at play and looking forward to the mayor signing this into law pretty quickly, as has been indicated to me she will do.

So with that being said, I am gonna go ahead and ask that the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Strauss.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

President Gonzales.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you so much, colleagues.

Really appreciate your support of that bill.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

And I'd ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation.

Moving right along, we will go to agenda item three.

Will the clerk please read the short title of the bill into the record?

agenda item three, Council Bill 119785, relating to funding for housing and community development programs, adopting the City of Seattle 2020 Annual Action Plan to the 2018 through 2020 Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development, and I'll be raising its submission to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Thank you so much.

I will move to pass Council Bill 119785. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to pass Council Bill 119785. Council Member Mosqueda, I'm going to go ahead and hand it over to you to address the bill first.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

This bill adopts the annual action plan, which details how the city will spend its annual entitlements of four federal grants, the Community Development Block Grant, the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS or HOPLA, the Emergency Solutions Grant, ESG, and the Home Investment Partnership Program.

Madam President, I do have an amendment.

Would you like me to move the amendment so we can discuss the amendment before I talk about the rest of the legislation?

Sure, if you'd like to address the bill as amended, I have no problem doing that.

So why don't you go ahead and make your motion, and we'll do it that way.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

I move to amend Council Bill 119785, Attachment 1, by substituting Version 2 for Version 1a.

Is there a second?

Second.

Okay, it's been moved and seconded to amend attachment one by substituting it for version two.

Council Member Mosqueda, please feel free to address the substitute version.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

Council colleagues, as you'll recall, last Monday we held a public hearing on the bill, a draft of this plan based on our best estimates for how much funding we would receive in the 2020 adopted budget was heard in the Finance and Neighborhoods Committee in December of 2019. The amended version in front of you now reflects that we've received notice of the actual grant amounts, so Council has put forward the adopted version for your consideration.

This includes the final plan for submittal to the Federal Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, Department.

One small technical piece that is included in this amended version is that the plan that was originally transmitted has been updated by the executive.

We have the proposed substitute in front of us for consideration, which reflects the latest information on the grants and the projects they support.

This plan includes $25 million worth of funds to support people in Seattle, including $3.4 million to provide emergency shelter operations and case management to move people into permanent housing, $7.8 million to provide housing for persons living with AIDS and their families, $1 million to improve fire safety and Seattle Housing Authority, and $6.4 million for affordable housing preservation and deployment.

$2.8 million for Small Business Stabilization.

While most of these funds were included in the 2020 budget, this plan reflects that we've received more grant funding than expected.

These funds were added to the Affordable Housing Program and the Small Business Stabilization Fund.

I appreciate the Council's participation in the public hearing last week, and the amended version in front of you reflects these changes that I just described.

Okay, thank you so much, Councilmember Mosqueda.

It looks like we have a question or comment from Councilmember Herbold, please.

Thank you.

A comment.

I just really want to extend my thanks to the bill sponsor, Councilmember Mosqueda, as well as the Office of Housing for including additional funds, $1.8 million in funds for capital financing related to the rehabilitation of 34 units of affordable rental housing for low-income households in the Delridge neighborhood.

This is housing that is owned and operated by DNDA.

That's the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association.

And this is really critical funding for their ability to continue to manage the affordable housing in their portfolio.

So thank you.

Great.

Any other comments or questions on the proposed substitute?

Okay, seeing none, let's go ahead and vote on the adoption of the substitute.

So will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the substitute to attachment one?

Strauss?

Aye.

Herbold?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

DeWant.

Aye.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you so much.

The motion carries and the substitute to attachment one is adopted.

Are there any further comments on the bill as amended?

President, hold on, let me check with let me check with other folks because you're the prime sponsor.

So you get the last word.

Is there anyone other than Councilor Mosqueda who has a comment on the bill before I hand it over to her?

Hey, seeing and hearing none, Council Member Mosqueda, please.

Thank you, Madam President.

I just want to say thank you to all the central staff and department staff, and especially folks at the Office of Housing and our own central staff.

And a huge note of appreciation for Aaron House, who is in my office as well, who's been tracking this issue and working closely with the departments to make sure that we move forward.

This is a critical piece of legislation for us to advance and being able to do so remotely that we needed to work closely with council colleagues to make sure that you all knew what was in the bill and the urgency of passing it during this time so that we can respond to the crisis and also do general good governance.

So thank you for allowing us to include it for today's vote.

And again, thanks to Erin House for her work on this.

Great, thank you.

Council Member Mosqueda, really appreciate it.

and your work and your staff's work and Council Central staff's work on this issue.

Okay, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended?

Drouse?

Aye.

Herbold?

Herbold?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Lewis?

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Dwan.

Aye.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes as amended and the chair will sign it.

And I'd ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation.

Madam President.

Yes, I was remiss in not thinking St. Joe Perique, who did a huge amount of work on this and was lead on the bill for us.

So thank you to our chief of staff, St. Joe Perique, for her work on this.

Apologies and thanks again for letting me just chime in and add that piece.

Thank you, St. Joe.

Will the clerk please read item four into the record?

Agenda Item 4, appointment 01576, appointment of Jennifer E. Lee as member, Community Surveillance Working Group, for a term to December 31st, 2021.

Thank you so much.

I will move to confirm appointment 1576. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to confirm the appointment.

Council Member Peterson, you are the sponsor of this appointment, so I will hand it over to you to address it.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, as Chair of the Transportation and Utilities Committee, which includes technology, it falls into my purview to advance the City Council appointment to the Community Surveillance Working Group.

The Council takes this action pursuant to the surveillance ordinance.

I consulted with central staff, the City's Information Technology Department, City Attorney.

I'm pleased to advance this appointment of Jennifer Lee from the ACLU of Washington.

Ms. Lee currently serves as the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project Manager.

As you may recall, the council amended the surveillance ordinance back in 2018 to require review of each surveillance impact report by a community surveillance working group.

It's made up of seven individuals, five of whom must represent groups that have historically been subject to disproportionate surveillance, including Seattle's diverse communities of color, immigrant communities, religious minorities, and groups concerned with privacy and protest.

this is a council appointment.

Jennifer Lee has a very impressive resume.

Highly experienced in this area.

So I hope that you support her today.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Peterson.

Are there any comments on the appointment?

Hearing no comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of the appointment?

Strauss?

Aye.

Herbold?

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

DeWant.

Aye.

President Gonzales.

Aye.

President.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries, and the appointment is confirmed.

Colleagues, we have one last item, and that's in the category of other business.

We heard from Council Member Juarez this morning, so I'm just gonna go ahead and hand it over to her to remind us as to what we'll be voting on here shortly.

Thank you, Council President.

As I shared this morning, colleagues, Friday, May 8th, I circulated a letter of support for the National Urban Indian Family Coalition.

As you know, we are in line to receive some money from the National League of Cities.

And in order to do that, we need to respond to the rapid response grant in which we need to have a local letter of support.

I apologize, that's my daughter out there mowing the lawn and she just chose now to go by the window.

Awesome.

So, while the grant application was approved, the National League of Cities has requested this letter I'm asking the support of my colleagues to please sign the letter.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you so much.

Are there any questions or comments about the letter proposed to be signed by the Council by Council Member Juarez?

Okay, seeing and hearing none, I would ask that the clerk please call the roll on Council Member Juarez's letter relating to funding granted by the National League of Cities to the National Urban Indian Family Coalition.

Strauss.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

DeWant.

Aye.

President Gonzales.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you so much, Council Member Juarez.

It looks like you got unanimous consent on your letter.

Yes, and thank you.

And for all you people out there, that was my Mother's Day gift, my daughter's mowing my lawn.

That's great.

I'm glad to hear that they're following through on their commitment to mow your lawn.

Those are good daughters right there.

Thank you.

All right, colleagues, is there any other further business to come before the council?

18 and hearing none.

That is the last item of business on our agenda.

The next city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 18 2020 at 2pm.

Until then, we are adjourned.

Thank you everyone.

Bye.

Thank you.