By Robert Haugh

The Council extended the residential eviction moratorium until September 30, 2020. Tenants cannot be evicted for non-payment of rent if their incomes have been affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council originally passed a residential eviction ordinance on March 24, 2020, and has extended it three times to date.

The City extension is consistent with a recent statewide eviction moratorium extension.

Workers’ Retention Policy

Mayor Lisa Gillmor asked the council review and update the City’s worker retention ordinance that the Council passed unanimously in 2017.

Santa Clara is believed to be the first “small” city in the country to adopt such an ordinance. San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego are among other cities with worker retention ordinances. 

It applies to any entity in the City with more than 25 employees in California that enters into building services and/or food services or any entertainment/convention venues with a capacity of at least 8,000.

Sarah McDermott of Unite HERE, Local 19 said her organization wants to expand the worker retention ordinance to include hotels. 

McDermott said that the ordinance makes sure that as businesses re-open after the pandemic,  “employers won’t engage in ageism or try to hire new employees at lower salaries.”

The Council unanimously agreed to bring back the issue for a vote in October.

Downtown Plan

The Council directed the City staff to inquire with the State about the possibility of moving the downtown courthouse. 

Reclaiming Our Downtown wanted staff to engage in a series of meetings with them and the State to discuss moving the courthouse. But that wasn’t approved.

Councilman Raj Chahal made a motion to bring the issue back in a few months. But that motion failed.