The San Diego City Council passed a temporary suspension on evictions and foreclosures during the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the council unanimously ratified Mayor Kevin Faulconer's State of Emergency Tuesday after its declaration on March 12.
Any resident or business missing rent payments due to a loss of income or medical bills resulting from novel coronavirus will be granted a stay until at least May.
"I want to say to residents, 'This is not something you're going to have to worry about,'" Mayor Faulconer said.
The City Attorney's Office will collaborate with city staff to draw up the actual law going into effect.
The state of emergency is in effect for 30 days, after which the council can vote to extend it. Faulconer declared a state of emergency on March 12.
"Together, if we keep calm and observe protocols and do what we're supposed to do then we'll be able to get through this sooner rather than later," Councilman Scott Sherman said.
City Council President Georgette Gómez asked the council to advance the following proposals as part of the comprehensive legislation:
- Request that the mayor and the city attorney, along with the San Diego Housing Commission, evaluate and present proposals to implement a temporary moratorium on residential evictions due to non-payment of rent resulting from lost wages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Request that the Housing Commission present proposals to the council placing a temporary moratorium on evictions and mortgage foreclosures for property owned by the Housing Authority or SDHC due to non-payment of rent or mortgages stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic;
Gomez's proposals also include enforcing earned sick leave, freezing business tax collections, freezing utility shut-offs and late fees, establishing temporary relief funding for city workers laid off or furloughed and opening hotel rooms to unsheltered people in the city.
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As the council began discussing the economic response plan, the council announced 200 public comment emails would be read and entered into the records.
Read the complete proposal on the San Diego City Council website here.
On Monday, City of San Diego officials laid out enforceable mandates through an executive order for gatherings, bars and dining establishments on Monday, following San Diego County's updated guidelines.
“These mandates that are coming out are going to help slow the spread and as we’ve all heard, fatten curve,” said City Medical Director Dr. Joelle Donofrio. “If we can slow the rate of contagion, then our hospitals can help take care of the number of sick patients that we are going to get.”
Get the latest information on how the coronavirus is affecting San Diego County here.
For the latest information on COVID-19, visit the CDC website here.
