‘The right, moral thing to do.’ City signals support for renter protection but the program isn’t safe yet

The city’s last pandemic-era program protecting tenants got a major show of support from its leaders this week, but residents will likely have to wait until budget season is underway this summer to determine whether it lives on in the future.

The Fresno city attorney, city manager, and four councilmembers expressed support for finding funding to continue the Eviction Protection Program following a progress report presentation at Thursday’s council meeting. 

The presentation illustrated the need Fresno residents have for the EPP amid increased rent and high vacancy rates throughout the County. The presentation also said the Eviction Protection Program would need $2-2.5 million to continue functioning at current levels, meaning no increased services and no efforts made to increase outreach to tenants.

“In these uncertain economic times, these are often the first programs to get cut, but it’s also when they’re needed the most,” said Councilmember Tyler Maxwell. “When we cut them, we often exacerbate the issue and have to spend twice as much the next fiscal year.”

The Eviction Protection Program received support from everyone on the dais — with certain councilmembers showing explicit backing of not only the program but of its funding goals, as well. 

“This is a program that protects our residents’ livelihoods and prevents homelessness,” said Councilmember Annalisa Perea.  “And so, I will be very supportive in this upcoming budget to make sure it not only stays in but it stays in at an amount that at the very least can maintain the status quo.”

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz confirmed that the EPP will be part of his budget request this summer, and City Manager Georgeanne White confirmed with the council that the program is part of the mayor’s current budget draft, but would not confirm how much funding would be attached, citing recent sales tax figures changing the calculus. 

Councilmember Miguel Arias said that it is in the best interest of the city council — a body that has historically been reticent to introduce other means of rental assistance like rent control — to look for ways to invest in the EPP. He said it is necessary for the city to provide this stopgap for the homeless, citing the financial weight attached to helping bring unhoused residents back under a roof.

“Not only is it the right, moral thing to do for our residents, but it’s the right budgetary investment for the city,” Arias said.

Resident anxiety spiked earlier this year when the program briefly stopped taking in residents due to funding issues. 

More money for less work; Is Code Enforcement strained?

The presentation also detailed the additional burdens placed on the EPP program and city code enforcement officers as other renter protection and assistance programs have gone by the wayside in recent years.

Maxwell asked legal counsel why the program, which used to take more cases with less money – about $1.5 million — needed more funding for less work. 

The presentation demonstrated that now-defunct programs like the Emergency Rental Assistance Program provided tenants with quick assistance and, thus, case dismissals when reaching out to the EPP. The loss of a readily available cash influx to renters has drawn out cases.

Janz said that opposing counsel has also drawn out cases more often, leading to a higher cost per case. The city has also seen an increase in EPP cases involving breaches in city code and “severe” habitability problems, leading to “complex legal issues.”

Council President Mike Karbassi contemplated a more direct approach to addressing increased costs: going after slumlords. Though no data was shared at the meeting, the city’s legal counsel acknowledged that there are landlords who are repeat offenders.

Arias and Perea echoed that sentiment, and even asked legal counsel to name specific landlords who are habitual offenders. In Arias’ district, legal counsel said the most problematic property owner is JD Home Rentals.  

Code Enforcement’s Anti-Slum Enforcement Team publishes a weekly ASET report, listing current cases of blighted properties. 

White also said she felt some testimonials presented during the EPP progress report highlight the strain the city attorney office goes through when dealing with problematic landlords. Code Enforcement used to be run by the city administration before moving under the city attorney office years ago. 

“I think when the council took code enforcement from the administration prior to 2020, you threw the baby out with the bath water,” White said.  

‘We are in a housing crisis’

The Fresno City Council saw the 2024 Housing Element annual progress report on Thursday. The presentation is a formality, conducted to meet the state’s public engagement requirement for Fresno’s Housing Element — a roadmap jurisdictions across the state create to highlight how they plan to help address their local housing needs.

The seemingly routine agenda item, however, eventually devolved into what could be a preview for another divide among the northern and southern Fresno city councilmembers.

Both the housing element presentation and report were dismissed and seldom talked about during this portion of the meeting, with councilmembers, instead, directing their attention to a tabled item concerning a potential rezoning of office space to allow for infill housing. It was announced at the top of the meeting that the item was rescheduled for the April 24 council meeting.

Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi and councilmember Nick Richardson acknowledged the city’s commitment to their Housing Element included finding more areas to zone for housing, but had questions over the “ministerial” nature of the tabled item. 

“It is due diligence to give the residents who put us in these seats in the first place the ability to speak up and bring their public comment forward to developments in their area,” Richardson said.

Jennifer Clark, the city’s planning director, noted that a rejection of the ordinance would result in having to find space for 2,500 housing units, most likely by rezoning independent parcels in that area — an action that could potentially lead to 25 different rezonings and items brought forward before the council.

Perea, drawing attention to the state housing crisis, said that “any item that comes before us” is subject to a public hearing. She also said the item, when it does come before council, is already expected to receive “heavy” public comment. 

“I understand that ‘ministerial’ is a scary word to some…but we are in a housing crisis,” Perea said. “It’s about time we start acting it and time we start being bold about the actions we are taking.” 

“We need to be doing more as a city to better position ourselves to meet our (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) goals at every income level,” she later added.

White, the city manager, also added that because the item is part of the city’s now-approved Housing Element, a rejection puts Fresno “in the crosshairs” of both residents and the state housing department, meaning possible litigation.

“How we feel here is no different than how some other communities feel,” White said, “but the hammers that the state has imposed on us, and the threats that the state has imposed on us on withholding future state funding if we’re not in compliance with our housing element have very serious consequences.”

Arias also said he feels a rejection could be “picking a fight with the hand that feeds,” as many of the city’s housing and homeless programs rely on state funding. 

Karbassi, who acknowledged threats of litigation, said that he believes his responsibility is ultimately to his constituents, and not the state. Anticipating the “spirited” debate to come, he said a major change like this could leave homeowners who thought they were moving into a certain kind of neighborhood feeling misled.

“I did not come here to roll over to the state of California,” Karbassi said.

“You bought your home knowing it’s zoned for office,” he added, “which means probably not a lot of night traffic, minimal impacts on schools and parks in your area, and that’s taken away…I can’t do that.”

The city has faced litigation threats from the state before. 

Last year, Fresno risked violating the Housing Accountability Act after the city’s planning commission controversially rejected a housing project in northwest Fresno. The threat has persisted, as the city council also rejected the project in an appeal hearing later in the year.