DEPARTMENT: Neighborhood and Housing Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Ver?nica R. Soto, FAICP, Neighborhood and Housing Services Department Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City wide
SUBJECT: Briefing and Possible Action on the Proposed Renters Commission Survey and Focus Group Feedback
SUMMARY:
Discussion on the feedback received from the Renters' Commission survey and focus groups regarding the establishment of a proposed Renters' Commission
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
A Council Consideration Request (CCR) was sponsored by Councilmember Trevi?o on June 19, 2019 requesting a discussion of the creation of a Renters' Commission. The proposed Commission would advise the City Council on matters related to rental housing including housing production, accessibility, renter laws/rights, public health and safety, and other matters that impact renters and landlords. The Governance Committee referred the CCR to the Culture & Neighborhood Services Committee (CNSC) on January 15, 2020. Public engagement previously scheduled for March 2020 was delayed due to the pandemic.
ISSUE:
Staff will provide an update on the proposed creation of a Renters' Commission and next steps.
A survey had been released through SASpeakUp to gather information from the community. Concurrently, stakeholder focus groups were held during the first weeks of October to discuss the issues and makeup of a commission or similar group.
Both the survey and the focus groups requested information from renters and property managers, with the survey allowing for customized questions upon clicking options.
Outreach of the survey was done from September 14 through October 29, 2020. Staff distributed the survey through Council Offices, Housing Commission, COSAtexts, and COSA social media channels. The survey was also shared directly with applicants and landlord participants in the Emergency Housing Assistance Program, Right to Counsel program, ForEveryoneHome initiative, and NHSD monthly email dis...
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