City Council Meeting 7-30-96                 Santa Monica, CA

TO:           Mayor and City Council

FROM:         City Attorney 

SUBJECT:      Proposed Emergency Ordinance Amending Chapter 4.56
              of the Santa Monica Municipal Code Prohibiting
              Tenant Harassment

Introduction
At its meeting of July 23, 1996, the City Council directed legal
staff to prepare an urgency ordinance amending Chapter 4.56 of
the Municipal Code which prohibits harassment of tenants residing
in controlled rental units within the City.  Council specified
that the amendments should incorporate those changes to the
tenant harassment law which were discussed at the July 23rd
meeting in the context of Council deliberations on a proposed
City Charter amendment which would have moved the harassment law
into the City Charter and made certain substantive modifications
strengthening the law.  The attached urgency ordinance fulfills
the Council's directive.

Discussion
In summary, the proposed urgency ordinance would: (1) change the
intent requirement of the tenant harassment law by eliminating
the requirement of showing intent to cause a tenant to vacate a
controlled rental unit, substituting malice as the requisite
intent; (2) add to the list of prohibited conduct a prohibition
against interfering with a tenant's right to quiet use and
enjoyment of a controlled rental unit; (3) expand the scope of
the anti-discrimination clause of the harassment law to include,
among other things, prohibitions against discrimination based on
AIDS, parenthood, occupancy by a minor child or sexual preference
or orientation; (4) add a minimum statutory damage requirement of
$500.00; and (5) prohibit the interruption or termination of
housing services and the failure to perform repairs and
maintenance required by county housing, health, or safety laws.

In addition to these changes -- which were discussed at the
meeting of July 23rd -- the Council also considered whether the
prohibition against tenant harassment should continue to be
limited to tenants residing in controlled rental units or whether
it should apply to all rental units within the City.  It was not
clear that the Council reached a consensus on this issue.  So, we
have not proposed any change.  However, should the Council wish
to resume consideration of that issue and decide to make the
prohibition more broadly applicable, that change could be easily
made at the Council meeting.

Recommendation
It is respectfully recommended that the Council adopt the
attached urgency ordinance.

Prepared By:   Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
               Barry Rosenbaum, Deputy City